Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.68 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,668 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.68. The stock had a trading volume of 18,246,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.51. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The firm has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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).