Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,081 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 480 shares during the quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 6,382 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 186,393 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,228,000 after buying an additional 9,042 shares during the period. Verus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $951,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 8,332 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

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).