Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC

CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 556.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,331 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares during the quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $93,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $183.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.93. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).