Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $57.37 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,434,559 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,688 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $57,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,892,000 after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth $3,376,000. Burney Co. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,463,000 after buying an additional 43,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1,934.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,080,015 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $48,503,000 after buying an additional 1,026,930 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0 %

VZ opened at $44.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.09. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial restated 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 reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

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).