Advisory Research Inc. Has $7.83 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Advisory Research Inc. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,904 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 828 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.3% of Advisory Research Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Advisory Research Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 252 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 20,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the fourth 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. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,915 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,483 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,664.50. This trade represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.66 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.31 and a 200-day moving average of $42.05. The company has a market capitalization of $183.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 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 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 business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.92.

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).