Twin Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 116,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BCK Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after buying an additional 58,283 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after buying an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $567,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE VZ traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $39.86. 8,379,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,572,066. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.67%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 15,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total value of $604,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 59,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,387,576.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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).