Windle Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Windle Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 170,002 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,071 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 3.8% of Windle Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Windle Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cascade Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $463,000. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,676,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $107,052,000 after purchasing an additional 393,809 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $170,000. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 194,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,784,000 after buying an additional 2,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.51 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $183.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.89. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the 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 owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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).