Hamel Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hamel Associates Inc. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,374 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the quarter. Hamel Associates Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day moving average is $41.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).