Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,962,074 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 84,280 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $179,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. NCM Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the first quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 6,913 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,508 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,550,859.84. The trade was a 12.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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, Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.41.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.15 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $43.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.21. The company has a market capitalization of $177.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.59 and a 12-month high of $47.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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