ING Groep NV Trims Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

ING Groep NV reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 824,087 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 65,940 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $37,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth $32,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.12. 4,009,264 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,539,664. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $173.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.84 and a 1 year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 7.30% and a return on equity of 20.05%. The business had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.678 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 116.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.37.

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).