Monarch Capital Management Inc. Has $1.48 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 49.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,291 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,933 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158,561 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,978,000 after purchasing an additional 10,489 shares in the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $356,000. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 106,835 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 163,042 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,147,000 after acquiring an additional 10,584 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.88. The stock had a trading volume of 17,846,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,364,316. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.86.

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).