Verity Asset Management Inc. Purchases 1,682 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,083 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,682 shares during the period. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.61 and its 200 day moving average is $41.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $168.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.78%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).