Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $155.07 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,877,794 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 430,817 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $155,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Verus Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $951,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 8,332 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Baker Boyer National Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $225,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,377 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5 %

VZ opened at $40.44 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.79 and a 200-day moving average of $41.61. The stock has a market cap of $170.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.81%.

About Verizon Communications

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).