HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Buys 19,462 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,009 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 19,462 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $4,289,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after acquiring an additional 565,842 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $983,445,000 after buying an additional 6,153,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.6 %

VZ traded up $1.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $43.69. The stock had a trading volume of 30,687,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,329,976. The stock's 50 day moving average is $40.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.91. 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 company has a market capitalization of $183.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven investment 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 MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.11.

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).