KBC Group NV Sells 184,918 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,918,759 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 184,918 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 0.6% of KBC Group NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $212,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,700,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,904,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.66. The stock has a market cap of $171.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company had revenue of $33.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.41.

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).