Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.

Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 375,566 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 71,177 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 3.4% of Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 21,500 shares of company stock valued at $938,400 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.33.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.81. 11,349,089 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,333,920. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $42.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one 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 cap of $180.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Verizon Communications Company 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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.