Stevens Capital Management LP Buys 18,537 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stevens Capital Management LP grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 179.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,875 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 18,537 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,896,150 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $315,767,000 after purchasing an additional 407,978 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $362,000. Mosley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 14,691 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 20,386 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $78,389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.43. 8,858,627 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,027,941. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.63 and its 200 day moving average is $42.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Remove Ads

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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).