57,535,540 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 57,535,540 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $2,300,846,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.37% of Verizon Communications at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.71.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.96. 19,526,803 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,509,713. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.59 and a 1 year high of $47.36. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.08.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.46%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of Verizon Communications 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at $633,159.61. The trade was a 40.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total transaction of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

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).