Marshall Investment Management LLC Takes $2.02 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 50,478 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 255,966 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,236,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the last quarter. ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,434,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,593,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 361,580 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,604,000 after purchasing an additional 18,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cowa LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 15,979 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.77 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.62.

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

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. 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. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).