Proficio Capital Partners LLC Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 64.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 4,360 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.53.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $183.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

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).