Stevens Capital Management LP Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 179.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 28,875 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,537 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,790,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $880,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 29,535 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 684,908 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,759,000 after acquiring an additional 59,387 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.06 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.15%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

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).