Transcendent Capital Group LLC Acquires Shares of 3,091 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,091 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 7,268 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 96,911 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 166,901 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,409,000 after buying an additional 30,246 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 38,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 30,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $39.67. The stock had a trading volume of 10,480,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,693,011. The company has a market capitalization of $166.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 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 Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a 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 stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.77.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).