Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Buys 8,570 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 255,289 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,570 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,440,247 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $64,681,000 after purchasing an additional 12,580 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 29,925 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 24.1% during the 3rd quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 6,401 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth $1,246,000. Finally, Frisch Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.0% in the third quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 5,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.85.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.09 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $42.79 and its 200 day moving average is $42.06. The stock has a market cap of $177.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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).