Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 94,605 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,620,964 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,605 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $68,632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Trust Co grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 18,010 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.7% during the second quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,599 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 5,467 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 22.4% in the second quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 123,234 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,218,000 after buying an additional 22,554 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 39.6% in the second quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,138 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 50.0% in the second quarter. Alliance Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,267 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 13,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $47.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $195.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.81.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

About Verizon Communications

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.