Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $10.92 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 275,623 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $10,915,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total value of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $441,352.80. This represents a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,500 shares of company stock worth $1,376,300. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.49 on Friday, hitting $43.97. 13,389,383 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,191,021. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.39.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.41.

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).