Nikulski Financial Inc. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nikulski Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,383 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,134,258 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,762,000 after purchasing an additional 11,401 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 22,411 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 20,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 122,798 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,629,000 after purchasing an additional 19,656 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.8 %

VZ opened at $41.20 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.56 and its 200-day moving average is $38.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The company has a market cap of $173.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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).