Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,482,627 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 267,075 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $99,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VZ. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ traded up $0.36 during trading on Monday, hitting $45.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,594,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,831,059. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $42.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.07. 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 quarterly 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.98%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).