Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Holdings Boosted by Danske Bank A S

Danske Bank A S raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,678,335 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 590,292 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S owned approximately 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $168,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% in the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.11, for a total transaction of $50,721.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,457,269.26. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,100 shares of company stock valued at $567,094 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Arete Research reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $50.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.36. 19,859,829 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,035,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.68 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $192.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.28. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $46.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.07.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.19%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc. is a telecommunications company that provides wireless and wireline communications services in the United States. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, broadband internet, and related services for consumers, businesses, and government customers. The company operates a nationwide wireless network and provides home internet through fiber-optic service, including Fios, and fixed wireless access. For business and public-sector customers, Verizon offers connectivity, networking, security, and Internet of Things services.

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