APG Asset Management N.V. Has $200.31 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 230.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,186,786 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,618,440 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $200,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 222,366 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,892,000 after purchasing an additional 48,294 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 382,678 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,303,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 186,621 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,463,000 after purchasing an additional 43,472 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,333,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,394,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $55,783,000 after buying an additional 547,384 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.68. The company had a trading volume of 30,139,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,139,406. The firm has a market cap of $183.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.04. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.20%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $262,809.20. This trade represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 in the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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).