Sciencast Management LP Invests $2.74 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 68,389 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $2,735,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $499,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $387,000. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 6,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 261,250 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $10,447,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 48,927 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,957,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.46. The company had a trading volume of 21,480,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,343,427. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $182.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business's 50 day moving average price is $41.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.02.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).