Clare Market Investments LLC Makes New $362,000 Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,043 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 12,374 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 3,772 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 101.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 16,202 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 8,155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $666,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target 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. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $46.55 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $195.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.88.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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 posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 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).