Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Purchased by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,660,600 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,400 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $66,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $47.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total transaction of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.3 %

VZ stock opened at $43.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.07 and a 200-day moving average of $41.68. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).