Abundance Wealth Counselors Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Abundance Wealth Counselors lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,971 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 10,859 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 0.6% of Abundance Wealth Counselors’ holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Abundance Wealth Counselors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Certified Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $40.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.49 and its 200-day moving average is $37.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The company had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.86.

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).