OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Has $7.54 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 188,638 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 13,103 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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 investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.97. The stock had a trading volume of 13,389,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,140,026. The company has a market cap of $185.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a PEG 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 200-day simple moving average is $42.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 6.16%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).