Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,610,752 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 432,977 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 0.6% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $143,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,273,082 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,548,163,000 after acquiring an additional 5,936,009 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4,520.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,815,534 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $216,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,711,309 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $177,799,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 184.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,428,540 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $217,087,000 after buying an additional 3,519,258 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 77.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,101,616 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $274,052,000 after acquiring an additional 2,656,396 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 39,085 shares of company stock worth $1,582,995 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.33 on Wednesday, reaching $40.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,813,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,911,574. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.75%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

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).