Reitz Capital Advisors LLC Has $247,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Reitz Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 46.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,545 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,090 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.4% of Reitz Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Reitz Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during 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 period. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.88. The stock had a trading volume of 17,846,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,364,316. The stock has a market cap of $171.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.49 and its 200 day moving average is $37.26. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Seven 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, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.86.

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).