Kestra Investment Management LLC Has $3.18 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,600 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 4,418 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 156,957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,277,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 931,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $37,258,000 after acquiring an additional 11,002 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,619 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 16,052 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $642,000 after buying an additional 2,981 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 9,142 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 3,771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

VZ opened at $41.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.94 and its 200 day moving average is $41.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications 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).