Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. Invests $902,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 22,555 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $902,000. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.4% of Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after buying an additional 6,795 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $55,783,000 after purchasing an additional 547,384 shares during the period. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $1,200,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of VZ traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.50. 12,862,291 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,187,579. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.15. The firm has a market cap of $183.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total transaction of $329,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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).