Quantinno Capital Management LP Has $15.28 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 382,151 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 120,449 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. DZ Bank raised shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE VZ traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.97. 13,389,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,168,938. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.01. The stock has a market cap of $185.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.52%.

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).