Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Holdings Lifted by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 594,918 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 39,530 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% in the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $40.12. 20,170,080 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,708,980. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.14 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $168.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.54 and its 200 day moving average is $38.18.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $35.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Verizon Communications from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.50.

About Verizon Communications

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).