one8zero8 LLC Purchases Shares of 23,094 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

one8zero8 LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 23,094 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 25,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Diversified Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,023,041 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $80,906,000 after buying an additional 48,689 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 101,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,045,000 after buying an additional 7,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harrington Investments INC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 40,580 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1 %

VZ opened at $43.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.93.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).