MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Acquires 19,363 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 469,061 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 19,363 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $21,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,801,282,000 after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of 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 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have 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.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $43.30. The stock had a trading volume of 9,959,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,147,661. 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 stock has a market cap of $182.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.18. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date 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).