Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Amundi

Amundi boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,153,408 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.60% of Verizon Communications worth $983,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after buying an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after buying an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $815,636,000 after buying an additional 502,949 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 4.3 %

NYSE:VZ opened at $46.13 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.82. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $46.20. The company has a market cap of $194.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications 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).