Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 31.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 600,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 145,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,809.20. The trade was a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.11. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The company has a market cap of $181.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 6.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.82.

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).