MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Purchases 1,781 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 67.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,433 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,781 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,882,164,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,801,067 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $821,900,000 after acquiring an additional 12,220,777 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 92.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 22,599,173 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $851,989,000 after acquiring an additional 10,882,873 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $173,325,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 419.8% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,141,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $193,825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152,099 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.10 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.14 and a 1 year high of $43.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.09. The company has a market cap of $173.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.23 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 8.44%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 99.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Verizon Communications 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).