EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Has $952,000 Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,810 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 418 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 45,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 892,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,687,000 after acquiring an additional 36,700 shares during the last quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Marco Investment Management LLC now owns 80,963 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,238,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. BBR Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 9,384 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Destination Wealth Management raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 490,299 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,607,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $45.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.12%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

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).