Arizona State Retirement System Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,220,059 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 13,163 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $48,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.83. 18,034,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,724,547. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.40 and a 200 day moving average of $41.77. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).