OLD Mission Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 152,717 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $6,107,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,698 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the third quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY now owns 9,123 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $5,985,000. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 234.9% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 61,702 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,771,000 after acquiring an additional 43,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $48,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,930 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $191.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.97%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).