Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Increased by Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,252 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $182.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.15. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

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).