Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 69.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 251,188 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,667 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $232,389,000 after purchasing an additional 39,403 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 30,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,328,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 29.7% in the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,730 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 27.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,490,744 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $63,894,000 after acquiring an additional 321,706 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,308,611 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,500,000 after acquiring an additional 432,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6 %

VZ stock opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $40.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This trade represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.11.

Verizon Communications 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).