Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,925 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,493 shares during the quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.74. 15,365,211 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,184,283. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.68 and a 200-day moving average of $41.96. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $184.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,298,440. 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).