Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $4.35 Billion Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 0.8% of Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,346,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $217,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,519,258 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $274,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656,396 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,078,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after purchasing an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last quarter. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.75. The firm has a market cap of $184.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

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).