Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,220 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.15. 4,835,923 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,118,292. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.57 and its 200-day moving average is $42.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $181.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $33.50 billion for 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

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).