Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,252,391 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 528,078 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.15% of Verizon Communications worth $274,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 261,804 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,875,000 after buying an additional 10,522 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 87,652 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,976,000 after buying an additional 5,058 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 136,435 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,189,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $1,933,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.47.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $169.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.93. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.19 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 19.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.97%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.