Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,252 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527,387 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,455,000 after buying an additional 4,134,150 shares during the period. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $133,491,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,782.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,974,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $149,850,000 after buying an additional 3,872,434 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,302,051 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $171,839,000 after buying an additional 2,703,197 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

VZ stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.68. The stock had a trading volume of 18,246,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.51. The company has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.21.

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).