3,939 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Bought by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,939 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $158,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set 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 began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.82 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company 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).