Intact Investment Management Inc. Has $18.95 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 473,800 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 57,800 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after acquiring an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Verizon Communications by 126.0% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,454 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 11,962 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $536,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 14.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,313,760 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $103,911,000 after acquiring an additional 299,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 26.5% during the third quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 11,495 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % 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 worth $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.69 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $183.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

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).