Bank of Hawaii Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bank of Hawaii boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,408 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 448 shares during the quarter. Bank of Hawaii’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.85.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $180.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.06. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).