CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Acquires 6,432 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,757 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,985,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 8.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,309,386 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $238,378,000 after acquiring an additional 404,137 shares during the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 22,932 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,030,000 after buying an additional 5,247 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $274,052,000 after buying an additional 2,656,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 102,258 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.64 on Wednesday, reaching $44.74. 21,874,826 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,563,969. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Ten research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % 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 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% 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).