CacheTech Inc. Acquires 3,296 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CacheTech Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,334 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,296 shares during the period. CacheTech Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 21,693 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $576,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $6,207,000. Promethos Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Promethos Capital LLC now owns 107,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.7% in the 4th quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,441 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 4,184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.92.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction 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 approximately $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.32 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. 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 stock has a market cap of $186.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.02.

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 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 last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given 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 6.11%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.46%.

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).