Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.30% of Verizon Communications worth $3,862,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 9,123 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $5,985,000. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 234.9% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 61,702 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,771,000 after purchasing an additional 43,278 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $45.38. The stock had a trading volume of 15,707,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,545,393. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.36 and a 200 day moving average of $42.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. 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 price target for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

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).