Bailard Inc. Purchases 536 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 76,486 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,300,846,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $792,937,000 after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,801,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $40.96 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.40. The firm has a market cap of $172.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.00.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on VZ

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

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).

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report).