SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 306,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $12,264,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.71.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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).