Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 905,684 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 46,042 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 780 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 655.5% in the 4th quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,851,664.50. The trade was a 30.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the business's 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. This represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock worth $2,020,895. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.11.

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Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.69 on Friday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $40.94 and its 200 day moving average is $41.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.59 and a fifty-two week high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid 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%.

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).

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