Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,024 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Diversified Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,023,041 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $80,906,000 after purchasing an additional 48,689 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 101,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,045,000 after purchasing an additional 7,679 shares during the period. Harrington Investments INC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 40,580 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 112,289 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.67 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.93.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).