Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 294.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 376,312 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 281,005 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised 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 buying an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $815,636,000 after buying an additional 502,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $561,105,000 after buying an additional 46,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $41.96. 11,601,635 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,794,082. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.46%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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).