DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Trims Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,360,474 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 587,201 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned approximately 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $94,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,300,846,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,083,337,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after acquiring an additional 8,695,736 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,346,682,000 after acquiring an additional 7,421,148 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $792,937,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846,514 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $329,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,071.04. This represents a 28.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $979,400 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business's 50-day moving average price is $43.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.97. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.59 and a 52-week high of $47.36. The firm has a market cap of $185.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

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).

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