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) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 27,090,213 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,083,337,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $208,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 26.3% during the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 13,098 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 2,730 shares during the period. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 124.1% during the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 37,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,685,000 after buying an additional 20,778 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $42.83 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.77. The firm has a market cap of $180.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $45.36. 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 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

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).