Norway Savings Bank Buys 3,434 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Norway Savings Bank grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,292 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,434 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.3% of Norway Savings Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $481,000. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $904,000. Alliance Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $205,000. Hayek Kallen Investment Management grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the second quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 105,721 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,920,262 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $271,253,000 after purchasing an additional 209,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.85% of the company’s stock.

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 10,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.73, for a total transaction of $601,027.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,771 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,299.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Wolfe Research began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, October 19th. They set a “peer perform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $65.00 in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, November 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Sunday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

NYSE VZ opened at $57.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.84 and a 1-year high of $61.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.67 and a 200-day moving average of $58.65. The company has a market cap of $236.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 32.15%. The company had revenue of $31.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.6275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 7th. This represents a $2.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.18%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc offers communications, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. Its Consumer segment provides postpaid and prepaid service plans; Internet access on notebook computers and tablets; wireless equipment, including smartphones and other handsets; and wireless-enabled Internet devices, such as tablets, laptop computers and netbooks, and other wireless-enabled connected devices, such as smart watches and other wearables.

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