ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $19.25 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications, purchasing 424,338 shares valued at approximately $19.25 million.
• Several investment firms increased their holdings in Verizon, with Bernard Wealth Management raising its stake by 81% in the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Verizon, with an average target price set at $47.35 per share.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 424,338 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $19,248,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,695,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 worth $792,937,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846,514 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,434,572,000 after buying an additional 5,392,416 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,801,282,000 after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.33 on Wednesday, reaching $42.35. 17,800,801 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,145,494. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.71 and a 200-day moving average of $42.75. The firm has a market cap of $178.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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).