Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 14,954 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,170,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,954 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Verizon Communications worth $81,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 142,640 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,378,000 after acquiring an additional 27,950 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,745 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,530 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the period. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 71,220 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Finally, LifePlan Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $767,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE VZ traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.78. 14,010,061 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,711,529. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $167.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Citigroup upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

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).