E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Has $1.83 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 62.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,707 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 17,506 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Personal Financial Services raised its holdings in 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 worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the fourth 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. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 4.3 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 44,982,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,835,933. The company has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $46.20. The business's 50-day moving average is $40.61 and its 200-day moving average is $41.83. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).