Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,142 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 22,231 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,466 shares during the period. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $4,571,000. Camden National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 6,291 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 546,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $22,396,000 after acquiring an additional 21,849 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $46.13 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $46.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day moving average of $41.83. The firm has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

About Verizon Communications

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).