Zacks Investment Management Has $78.37 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,959,630 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 247,394 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $78,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,244 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 7,133 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,327 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 758,019 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $33,850,000 after purchasing an additional 9,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 31,420 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,479,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,148,521. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $43.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price 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 Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VZ. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.92.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% 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).