Invesco LLC Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Invesco LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,943 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.9% in 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 position in Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after acquiring an additional 113,032 shares during the period. Finally, First Western Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $567,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.0 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.10 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.14 and a 12 month high of $43.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $168.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 6.63%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

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).