Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,265 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,011 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the period. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527,387 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134,150 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $133,491,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,782.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,974,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $149,850,000 after acquiring an additional 3,872,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,302,051 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $171,839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,703,197 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,246,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).