8,451 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Rollins Financial Advisors LLC

Rollins Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,451 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.55 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.72 and a 200 day moving average of $42.08. 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 data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).