Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 235,740 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,338 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,482,627 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $99,280,000 after purchasing an additional 267,075 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 176,397 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,054,000 after buying an additional 10,873 shares during the period. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 9,086 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.10 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $181.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.54.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.29%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).