32,005 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Opinicus Capital Inc.

Opinicus Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 32,005 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.2% of Opinicus Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 18,648 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 3,079 shares in the last quarter. SOL Capital Management CO grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 11,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 8,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 68,892 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.68. 18,246,244 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders 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 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research upgraded Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Verizon Communications 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).