iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $311,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 17,657 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $2,790,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $880,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.9% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 29,535 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 1,912 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 684,908 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,759,000 after buying an additional 59,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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 on the stock. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten investment 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, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, 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 have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $185.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. 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).