MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,458 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,251 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 6,458 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 30,801 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC now owns 6,119 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 15,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 14,206 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 2,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $186.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.07. 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).

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