Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,152,184 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 116,313 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.07% of Verizon Communications worth $126,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,091,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.11.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.83. 18,034,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,724,547. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.77. The company has a market cap of $180.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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).