Danske Bank A S Acquires 590,292 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Danske Bank A S boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,678,335 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 590,292 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $168,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Gill Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% in the second quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Montgomery Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.36. The stock had a trading volume of 19,859,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,035,368. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $192.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.28. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.68 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.11, for a total value of $50,721.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,457,269.26. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,100 shares of company stock worth $567,094. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Arete Research reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc. is a telecommunications company that provides wireless and wireline communications services in the United States. Its offerings include mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, broadband internet, and related services for consumers, businesses, and government customers. The company operates a nationwide wireless network and provides home internet through fiber-optic service, including Fios, and fixed wireless access. For business and public-sector customers, Verizon offers connectivity, networking, security, and Internet of Things services.