Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Coston McIsaac & Partners

Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 104,009 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 1.2% of Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.25 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.61. The company has a market capitalization of $169.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 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 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).