AIA Group Ltd Has $3.09 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

AIA Group Ltd cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,167 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 24,916 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 363,824,525 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,549,343,000 after buying an additional 5,697,337 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 108,694,230 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,346,682,000 after buying an additional 7,421,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 95,824,245 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,289,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081,241 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,083,337,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.54, for a total value of $810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,664.50. This represents a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last 90 days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $45.38. 15,707,748 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,545,393. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.59 and a 1-year high of $47.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $191.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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).