Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $57.37 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,434,559 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 5,688 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $57,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $280,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 79,938 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 398,561 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,938,000 after purchasing an additional 9,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $2,300,846,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group upped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Remove Ads

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $45.27. The stock had a trading volume of 11,478,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,479,775. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $42.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.07. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).