South Dakota Investment Council Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 333,208 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 56,384 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its position in Verizon Communications by 627.8% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 655 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 863 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 320.0% in the 3rd quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 1,050 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:VZ traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $39.69. 25,970,800 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,270,385. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $40.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.71% and a net margin of 8.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 96.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Verizon Communications Company 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).