7,661 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Bought by Bank of Jackson Hole Trust

Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 7,661 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,376,000. Burney Co. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $4,333,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

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 shares were 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 owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).