Assetmark Inc. Has $126.06 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,152,184 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,313 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $126,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.87 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.76. The firm has a market cap of $180.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. 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 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.32%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 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).