Financial Avengers Inc. Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Financial Avengers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,077 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 11,001 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.5% of Financial Avengers Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Financial Avengers Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.21 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 $186.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.63 and its 200-day moving average is $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.