Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Boosted by TCG Advisory Services LLC

TCG Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,983 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares during the period. TCG Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $154,000. Telemus Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 47.4% during the third quarter. Telemus Capital LLC now owns 28,907 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 9,299 shares during the period. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 262,354 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,503,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.5% during the third quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,352 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, JB Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 28.8% during the third quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 131,033 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,247,000 after purchasing an additional 29,311 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $38.89. 13,195,563 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,003,748. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).