Heritage Trust Co Buys Shares of 14,374 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 14,374 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $1,083,337,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.47. 21,784,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,970,430. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.02. The company has a market cap of $187.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Remove Ads

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).