Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 755,190 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $30,200,000 after acquiring an additional 128,845 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,010 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 382,151 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,282,000 after acquiring an additional 120,449 shares during the period. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV now owns 56,624 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,264,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,485,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE VZ traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.97. 13,389,383 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,168,938. The business's 50 day moving average is $43.58 and its 200-day moving average is $42.03. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).