Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $624,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 150,411 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 39,832 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 12,228 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 32,181 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,287,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 218,731 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,744,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.74 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

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 last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Eleven 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. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

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).