Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 128.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,156 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 89,045 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.95. The company had a trading volume of 7,533,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,073,547. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $180.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.31%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).