Humankind Investments LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Humankind Investments LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,908 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the quarter. Humankind Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $184.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).