Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $1.08 Billion in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 27,090,213 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,083,337,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.64% of Verizon Communications at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $42.83 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $180.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.77.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 6.33%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

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).