Maridea Wealth Management LLC Invests $248,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,213 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.96 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.08.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).