Raiffeisen Bank International AG Purchases 30,195 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 11.0%, acquiring 30,195 additional shares, bringing its total to 305,818 shares valued at approximately $13.74 million.
• Several large investors, including Meyer Handelman Co. and Rempart Asset Management Inc., have also significantly increased their positions in Verizon Communications, which is owned 62.06% by institutional investors.
• Verizon Communications recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,818 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 30,195 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $381,000. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after buying an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 2,075,431 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $82,996,000 after buying an additional 20,610 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE VZ opened at $42.84 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $180.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

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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