Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,501,426 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 60,900 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $60,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

VZ traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.77. 18,532,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,809,768. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% 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).