Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Bought by Flossbach Von Storch AG

Flossbach Von Storch AG raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 312,013 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 59,680 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Certified Advisory Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 23,297 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,511 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 1,293 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 10,961 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock remained flat at $39.77 during trading hours on Wednesday. 21,006,388 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,729,598. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.14 and a twelve month high of $43.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $35.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 96.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.50.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.80, for a total value of $979,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,436,200.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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