Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 14,400 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $576,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% during 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 during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,091,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 transaction 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 $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.12. 25,187,306 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,091,395. The company has a market capitalization of $181.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. 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 $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.71.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.
A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.08.
Get Our Latest Report on 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).
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