E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 17,506 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 62.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,506 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 91,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,091,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,505 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 31,728 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,425,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.79. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $186.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 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 firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.11.

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).