Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $1.10 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 29,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,104,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 72,957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 58,937 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares in the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $377,000. AM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 29,931 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 169,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2 %

VZ stock opened at $39.68 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.14 and a 1-year high of $43.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. StockNews.com upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $39.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

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).