Forsta AP Fonden Has $41.43 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,035,950 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 18,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $41,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 57.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,303 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,763 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $129,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 112,486 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,639,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 99,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,099,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp downgraded Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.08.

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).