Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,418,052 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 1,348,389 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.65% of Verizon Communications worth $1,096,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.97. 13,389,383 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,191,021. The business's 50-day moving average price is $43.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.04. The stock has a market capitalization 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).