Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,465 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Certified Advisory Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.50. 24,693,029 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,784,156. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The business 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. Wolfe Research upgraded Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.50.

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).