Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 362,882 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,592,721 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 362,882 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $103,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 5,174,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $232,389,000 after buying an additional 39,403 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.0% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,231 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,256,000 after buying an additional 11,896 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 43,328 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $1,866,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.11.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $46.13 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $46.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.84. 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 earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).