ING Groep NV Acquires 1,199,504 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 145.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,023,591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,199,504 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $80,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.0 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.04 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.58. The company has a market capitalization of $176.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

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).