Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,745 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 130.1% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 320.0% during the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,096 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $39.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.17. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.14 and a 52 week high of $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total transaction of $979,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).