Mainstream Capital Management LLC Takes $28,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 689 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.87 on Wednesday. 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 $45.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.76. The company has a market capitalization of $180.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

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 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 previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications 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).