Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,310 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 100.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.59 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.02. The company has a market capitalization of $183.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.53.

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).