Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,991,361 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 158,000 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 1.9% of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $79,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. JB Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.62 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $179.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.00.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. This represents a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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).