KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $78.39 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,960,224 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $78,389,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 655.5% during the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.46. The stock had a trading volume of 21,480,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,358,512. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $41.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.04. The firm has a market cap of $182.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.24%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.71.

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).