Forbes J M & Co. LLP Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 193,319 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $78,975,000 after acquiring an additional 644,761 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.2% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 6,248 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 131,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,915,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 241,045 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,825,000 after buying an additional 17,874 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.18 and a 200-day moving average of $41.53.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current 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 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).