AM Investment Strategies LLC Buys 3,676 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,931 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,676 shares during the quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 169,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 2,384,159 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,883,000 after purchasing an additional 14,589 shares in the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 28,983 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $368,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $287,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $39.22. 16,589,142 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,183,934. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.48 and a 200 day moving average of $38.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

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).