Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,117,733 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $16,433,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $2,504,150,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after buying an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $113,004,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4,274.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,917,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $82,971,000 after buying an additional 1,873,675 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $50.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Company 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.