Telos Capital Management Inc. Has $924,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 262.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,737 shares during the quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after purchasing an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after buying an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $567,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.17. 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 $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during 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. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).