Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Purchases 11,002 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 931,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 11,002 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.7% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $37,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% during the third 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 buying an additional 4,711,309 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth approximately $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 184.3% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $217,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $274,052,000 after acquiring an additional 2,656,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $41.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).