Optas LLC Has $595,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Optas LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,870 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $815,636,000 after purchasing an additional 502,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $561,105,000 after purchasing an additional 46,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.00 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.61 and a 200 day moving average of $41.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of 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 note on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.08.

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).