Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 605,844 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 47,869 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $24,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $17,751,000. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 1,710,912 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $68,419,000 after acquiring an additional 28,832 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,972 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,078,000 after acquiring an additional 6,924 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 24,236 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,833 shares during the period. Finally, Laraway Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 8,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VZ
Verizon Communications Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.97. The company had a trading volume of 13,389,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,140,026. The stock 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 current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.01.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.52%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications
In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
About Verizon Communications
(
Free Report)
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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