Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,304,575 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 247,142 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $52,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,985,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.2% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,309,386 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $238,378,000 after purchasing an additional 404,137 shares during the period. Harmony Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 22,932 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $274,052,000 after buying an additional 2,656,396 shares during the period. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 102,258 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,592,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $45.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.08. The firm has a market cap of $191.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS 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 company earned $1.08 earnings per share. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).