Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,886 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 173.7% during the 3rd quarter. Portland Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 652,169 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $21,137,000 after purchasing an additional 413,869 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 127,632 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,131,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 51,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at about $306,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,966,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,157,775. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

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).