Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 210,217 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,178 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.3 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $186.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.97. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

About 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).