CapWealth Advisors LLC Has $12.89 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CapWealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 48.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 341,788 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,179 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 1.6% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $39.75. 7,187,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,556,172. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $167.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.17.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

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).