Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Gratus Capital LLC

Gratus Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3,044.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 287,055 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 277,925 shares during the quarter. Gratus Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $40.55. 21,361,995 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,646,404. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.14 and a fifty-two week high of $43.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.56%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications 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).

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