Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,583 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,085 shares of company stock worth $2,233,295 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).