Morton Community Bank Purchases 1,355 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Morton Community Bank grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 78,904 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,355 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 197,916 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,915,000 after buying an additional 17,691 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,746 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,776,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 82,700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,307,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $46.13 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $46.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. StockNews.com raised Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

About Verizon Communications

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).