Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 741,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 2.0% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after purchasing an additional 644,761 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.2% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $784,000 after buying an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Lincluden Management Ltd. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 267,241 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. 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 $37.58 and a 12 month high of $45.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.71. The firm has a market cap of $181.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. 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 stock in a transaction on 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 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 sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last three months. 0.02% 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).