26,860 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Everpar Advisors LLC

Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 26,860 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,013,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the last quarter. ShoreHaven Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. ShoreHaven Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,774 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $316,000. Simmons Bank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 156,519 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $374,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.48. The stock had a trading volume of 10,079,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,741,629. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $166.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.01. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).