Blueshift Asset Management LLC Has $1.22 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 88.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,440 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 14,275 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,083,337,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was 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 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $44.06. 68,411,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,347,959. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $41.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $185.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).