Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,285,872 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,168 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $171,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 64,801 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 4,683 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 19,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 13,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 13,020 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 203.7% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 111,288 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,450,000 after acquiring an additional 74,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.25 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.99. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The stock has a market cap of $182.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.31 billion. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the company’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. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.92.

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).