Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Increased by SimpliFi Inc.

SimpliFi Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,468 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 0.5% of SimpliFi Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. SimpliFi Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of VZ opened at $39.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $165.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

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).