CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Invests $569,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,224 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.7% of CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NCM Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $735,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 10,968 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 34,786 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.38 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

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).