Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 492,889 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.4%, acquiring 492,889 additional shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 2.5 million shares valued at $114.1 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly raised their stakes in Verizon, with Pacer Advisors increasing its holdings by 737.5% and Alyeska Investment Group by 3,601.6%.
• The company recently reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, contributing to an annual yield of 6.35%.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,515,930 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 492,889 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $114,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

VZ stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.84. The company had a trading volume of 4,780,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,925,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.63. The company has a market capitalization of $180.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

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).