Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Acquired by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,973 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,289,054,000 after buying an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 29,074,297 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,305,727,000 after purchasing an additional 565,842 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,083,337,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 25,227,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $983,445,000 after buying an additional 6,153,408 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE VZ opened at $46.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $195.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.75 and a 200-day moving average of $41.88.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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