Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC Purchases 723 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 2.4% of Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 45.9% during the third quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 795 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 988 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. 63.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.18. 21,078,604 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,267,076. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.55 and a 52 week high of $59.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $202.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.14.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.35. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $33.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 8th were paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 7th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 49.71%.

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, April 25th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $56.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $57.93.

In other news, CEO Tami A. Erwin sold 23,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.77, for a total transaction of $1,176,911.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 21,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,085,832.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 1,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total value of $81,016.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,980,004. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,763 shares of company stock worth $1,342,807 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Profile (Get Rating)

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled internet devices, such as tablets, and other wireless-enabled connected devices comprising smart watches.

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