Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 1,529,236 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,529,236 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $61,141,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Verizon Communications Trading Down 5.5 %

VZ stock traded down $2.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.11. The company had a trading volume of 42,633,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,738,736. The stock has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week 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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $42.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.09.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.

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).