Welch & Forbes LLC Has $27.18 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 641,841 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 10,423 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $27,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,499,000 after acquiring an additional 639,380 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the fourth quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after acquiring an additional 412,018 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after acquiring an additional 316,854 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,171,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $48.15 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.35 and its 200-day moving average is $47.11. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $200.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

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.