NewSquare Capital LLC Buys 971 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,342 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 16,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.69. The stock had a trading volume of 25,970,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,270,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).