Angeles Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,797 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $39.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a market cap of $168.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.56.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

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).