Legend Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires 320 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 69.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Range Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 230.4% in the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 61,089 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,443,000 after purchasing an additional 42,601 shares during the period. One Wealth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $316,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 28.8% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 77,796 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 17,393 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 70,276 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 15,250 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 65,500 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $38.92. 31,449,873 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,055,719. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.56 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $163.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.54.

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).