Greystone Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,132 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,655 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

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).