Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 931,695 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 11,002 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.7% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $37,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of VZ traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.77. The stock had a trading volume of 25,452,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,105,430. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.61. 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 announced 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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.08.

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).