UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 251,282 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 41,795 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after buying an additional 48,294 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Burney Co. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,463,000 after acquiring an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Verizon Communications
In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.
Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0 %
VZ stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,526,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,509,713. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.08. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.71.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Verizon Communications
About Verizon Communications
(
Free Report)
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).
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