Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Acquires 66,879 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 699.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,437 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 66,879 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $181.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

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).

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