7,277 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Planned Solutions Inc.

Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the third quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $41.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $30.14 and a one year high of $43.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 96.38%.

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).