Level Four Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 164,868 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $1,781,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $285,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 6,909 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 284,538 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,779,000 after acquiring an additional 5,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.99 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.07. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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).