Trust Point Inc. Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,907 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares during the quarter. Trust Point Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised 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. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.5 %

VZ stock opened at $40.00 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. 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 market capitalization of $168.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.57.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).