Apexium Financial LP Acquires 7,121 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Apexium Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,121 shares during the quarter. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $39.54 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $166.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.85 and its 200-day moving average is $41.62.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.43.

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).