Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. Has $866,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,660 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,100 shares during the quarter. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during 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 buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $983,445,000 after buying an additional 6,153,408 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % 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 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $45.40. The stock had a trading volume of 27,775,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,542,687. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.07. 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 market capitalization of $191.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 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).