KBC Group NV Has $231.50 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

by · The Cerbat Gem

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 279.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,103,677 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,758,238 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.7% of KBC Group NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $231,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.41.

Read Our Latest Analysis on VZ

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $42.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.15 and a 200-day moving average of $42.21. The company has a market cap of $178.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.59 and a one year high of $47.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 13.14%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.48, for a total value of $212,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,508 shares in the company, valued at $1,550,859.84. This trade represents a 12.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Profile

(Free Report)

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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