352,582 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Acquired by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 352,582 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $14,100,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 20,784 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in 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 during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 39,762 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 8,481 shares in the last quarter. apricus wealth LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 45,237 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 161,881 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,474,000 after buying an additional 4,224 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.23. 4,439,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,116,618. 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 company has a market capitalization of $182.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.17.

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 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 analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given 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 6.27%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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).