Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,828 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,245,397 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $49,803,000 after buying an additional 154,789 shares during the last quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. now owns 18,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 41,601 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,664,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $138,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. 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. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.95.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

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).