J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 55.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,963 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 92,571 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.50. 24,693,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,784,156. The stock has a market cap of $170.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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).