Stamos Capital Partners L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 176,220 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.7% of Stamos Capital Partners L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group increased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $44.47. 2,363,911 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,084,547. The company has a market capitalization of $187.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day moving average of $42.02. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month 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.

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 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 period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio 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).