Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,414 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 18,452 shares during the period. FIL Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. JB Capital LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value 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 is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $44.47. 21,787,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,156,940. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

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).