Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,806,891 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 164,567 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.19% of Verizon Communications worth $294,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 16,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,276,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,559,318. 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 moving average price of $40.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.71%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.21.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% 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).