Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Has $1.45 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 68.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,229 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 78,347 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $381,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $192,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $128,434,000. Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $439,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 85.3% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 997 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank raised 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.30. The company had a trading volume of 9,959,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,137,716. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.17. The stock has a market cap of $182.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $33.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total transaction of $212,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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).