Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 677,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,005 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $27,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after purchasing an additional 7,421,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $1,083,337,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $983,445,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $183.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.89.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

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).