Bessemer Group Inc. Has $147.65 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,692,084 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 862,759 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $147,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $44.22. 8,452,599 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,089,515. The stock has a market cap of $186.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $43.06 and its 200-day moving average is $42.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.92.

Verizon Communications 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).