Fiduciary Group LLC Raises Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 138,132 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,040 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after acquiring an additional 4,527,387 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,400,326 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134,150 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $133,491,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,782.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,974,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $149,850,000 after buying an additional 3,872,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,302,051 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $171,839,000 after buying an additional 2,703,197 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.68. 18,246,244 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,678,804. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.14 and a 12-month high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $166.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications 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).