Sargent Investment Group LLC Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,895 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 730 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.0% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $78,975,000 after buying an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 857,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $38,511,000 after acquiring an additional 55,411 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Evanson Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 5,693 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 373,419 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,770,000 after acquiring an additional 24,557 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VZ. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.14 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $168.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.44 and a 200-day moving average of $41.54.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.03% 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).