Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd. Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 493,100 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 7.8% of Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Heathbridge Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $217,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656,396 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $41.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $45.36. The company has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45. 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) last released 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank upgraded 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. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

Verizon Communications 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).