116,467 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Teza Capital Management LLC

Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 116,467 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $4,658,000. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.7% of Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,862,441,000 after acquiring an additional 998,847 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.97 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $43.58 and its 200 day moving average is $42.04. The firm has a market cap of $185.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.41.

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).

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