Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 741,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,680 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 2.0% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,756,452 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $78,975,000 after acquiring an additional 644,761 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd 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. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Lincluden Management Ltd. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the third quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd. now owns 267,241 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $12,002,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.12 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $181.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 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).