NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 813,067 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 56,382 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.0% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $32,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $381,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $4,333,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $55,783,000 after buying an additional 547,384 shares during the period. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,200,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,553,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,234,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $185.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $43.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.18. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Company 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).