Bouchey Financial Group Ltd Purchases 2,098 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bouchey Financial Group Ltd grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,271 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the quarter. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.42. 10,663,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,208,373. The firm has a market cap of $174.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).