KBC Group NV Acquires 3,758,238 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 279.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,103,677 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,758,238 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 0.7% of KBC Group NV's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $231,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 20,780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.8% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,846 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 217.8% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 196,266 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,903,000 after purchasing an additional 134,517 shares during the period. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 45,643 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,298,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,112,795. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.23.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.25.

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).