Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. Takes $902,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 22,555 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $902,000. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.4% of Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew 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 valued at $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,071.04. The trade was a 28.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.20. The stock had a trading volume of 4,131,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,115,432. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.17. 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 company has a market capitalization of $182.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

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).