Auxier Asset Management Has $1.27 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Auxier Asset Management lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 796 shares during the quarter. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 48,516 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098 shares during the period. Richmond Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $511,000. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $569,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $43.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.11. The company has a market capitalization of $182.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).