Tower Wealth Partners Inc. Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 263 shares during the quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $46.13 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $46.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.61 and a 200 day moving average of $41.84. The stock has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by 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).