Loudon Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Loudon Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,927 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.99. The stock has a market cap of $184.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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).