Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 210,217 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,178 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. New England Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 204,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,206,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Windle Wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 162,931 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,317,000 after acquiring an additional 7,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 125,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,641,000 after acquiring an additional 6,851 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $186.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.97. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. 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 6.13%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VZ. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).