Peak Retirement Planning Inc. Invests $772,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,298 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE VZ traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, hitting $43.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,921,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,127,396. The company's 50-day moving average is $43.59 and its 200 day moving average is $42.16. The firm has a market cap of $182.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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