Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases 5,607 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,741 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,526,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,509,713. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.11 and a 200 day moving average of $42.08.

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. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 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 represents a 40.88 % 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.

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).