Howe & Rusling Inc. Buys 804 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,946 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,781,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 6,355 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.8% in the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 284,538 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 16,165 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $189.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.98 and its 200 day moving average is $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 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 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday. 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 target for the company. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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).