SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,619 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,641 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

VZ stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $41.95. The company had a trading volume of 19,763,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,343,715. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.21. The company has a market capitalization of $176.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.57 and a 200 day moving average of $37.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications 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 value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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).