Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Position Increased by Creekmur Asset Management LLC

Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 819.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $483,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Verizon Communications by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,304,575 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $52,170,000 after buying an additional 247,142 shares in the last quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 39.0% during the 4th quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,217 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 2,024 shares during the period. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 100,823 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after acquiring an additional 2,622 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0 %

VZ opened at $45.38 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.08. The firm has a market cap of $191.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).