Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.5 %

VZ stock opened at $43.11 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. 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 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).