World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,537 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 35,010 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the 4th 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. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research cut Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.82.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.9 %
Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $45.60. The stock had a trading volume of 30,452,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,612,829. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.13. The company has a market capitalization of $191.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Announces Dividend
The company 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.
Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications
In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Verizon Communications Profile
(
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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