Mizuho Markets Cayman LP Invests $362,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,053 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $362,000. Verizon Communications makes up 0.8% of Mizuho Markets Cayman LP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.6 %

VZ stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.18. The stock had a trading volume of 21,683,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,380,075. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.04. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $185.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VZ. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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).