Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,530,138 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,597 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $261,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,083,337,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $185.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.99.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

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

About Verizon Communications

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).