Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1,088.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,168 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,009 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.5% of Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $14,549,343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,697,337 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,823,092 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,862,441,000 after buying an additional 998,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.82.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.11. The company has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Insiders own 0.03% 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).