Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by TIAA Trust National Association

TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 136,999 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $44.18 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $185.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $41.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.05.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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).