Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Sells 34,709 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 304,389 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 34,709 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.5% of Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 19,481 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 4,877 shares during the period. RoundAngle Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,145,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,494 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,480,000 after acquiring an additional 36,704 shares during the period. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Finally, Wealth Management Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $437,900.00. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,300 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.78 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.12%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

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).

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