Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Boosted by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,818,806 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 208,054 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.5% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $172,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6,475.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 444,969 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $17,794,000 after acquiring an additional 438,202 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $576,000. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 178,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $7,155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of VZ traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.32. The company had a trading volume of 21,392,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,128,143. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $178.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications 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).