Lingohr Asset Management GmbH Takes $797,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lingohr Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $797,000. Verizon Communications makes up 1.7% of Lingohr Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,303,000 after acquiring an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth $3,376,000. Burney Co. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after acquiring an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,026,930 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

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).