Mission Wealth Management LP Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,959 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,548,163,000 after buying an additional 5,936,009 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 565,842 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 18,161,563 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $815,636,000 after acquiring an additional 502,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 12,493,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $561,105,000 after purchasing an additional 46,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. The trade was a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of VZ opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $184.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.19%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

About Verizon Communications

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).