6,558 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Purchased by Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $217,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $274,052,000 after buying an additional 2,656,396 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.10 and a 200-day moving average of $41.56. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.70%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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).