Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Purchases 3,236 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE VZ opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.09 and a 200-day moving average of $41.95. 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 $183.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

About Verizon Communications

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).