Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is V2 Financial group LLC’s 7th Largest Position

V2 Financial group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,499 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 528 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 2.3% of V2 Financial group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. V2 Financial group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $39.88 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.55. 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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).