Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $15.36 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 384,152 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 15,890 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.05. 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

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).