Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 114.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,855 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,152 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 17,010 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,180 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 170,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,945,000 after purchasing an additional 5,077 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 657.3% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,069 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 39,986 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 17,579 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 96.9% in the 4th quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 904 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Evercore increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of VZ opened at $47.84 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $199.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The business had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

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.