Spreng Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Spreng Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,824 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,935 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.2% of Spreng Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Spreng Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $60,828,000 after purchasing an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $567,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.96. 19,771,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,609,096. The company has a market cap of $176.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Company 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).