Laraway Financial Advisors Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Laraway Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 911 shares during the quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

VZ stock opened at $43.65 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.98. The stock has a market cap of $184.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

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).