Concord Wealth Partners Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,755 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,632 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its position in Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 857,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,511,000 after acquiring an additional 55,411 shares during the period. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.8% in the third quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,308 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 418,526 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $18,796,000 after purchasing an additional 4,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.41 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day moving average of $41.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 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 given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.02% 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).