Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys 27,950 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,640 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,950 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 351,625,025 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,396,167,000 after buying an additional 930,367 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,027,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,151,714,000 after buying an additional 4,527,387 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 88,532.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 79,084,569 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,115,932,000 after buying an additional 78,995,341 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 67,976,459 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,678,273,000 after buying an additional 11,987,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $1,829,675,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $39.77. 13,972,151 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,656,873. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $604,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

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).