14,065 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Crews Bank & Trust

Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,065 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

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).