Caxton Associates LP Has $1.02 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Caxton Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 63.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,410 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 43,721 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,089,676 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $43,576,000 after buying an additional 9,661 shares in the last quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $299,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Trust Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,091 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.90. 12,826,279 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,139,079. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $185.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.97.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock valued at $979,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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).