HM Payson & Co. Has $889,000 Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,231 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,466 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $46.13 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $46.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.61 and a 200-day moving average of $41.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Company 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).