OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Purchases 13,103 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188,638 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 13,103 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.62 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $43.71 and its 200 day moving average is $42.00. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $179.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.36%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

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).