Huntington National Bank Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Huntington National Bank increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,304,575 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 247,142 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $52,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,217 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,024 shares during the period. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 100,823 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,993,000 after buying an additional 2,622 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $1,377,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value 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 trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, 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 have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein began 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 objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.74. The stock had a trading volume of 21,874,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,563,969. The firm has a market cap of $188.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.10. 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 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.06%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

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).