Rockland Trust Co. Buys 12,321 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Rockland Trust Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 492,341 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,321 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after buying an additional 6,580,820 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,743,274,000 after buying an additional 5,075,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after buying an additional 1,972,634 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.40, for a total transaction of $51,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 103,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,791,542.40. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 6,600 shares of company stock worth $322,597 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $45.80. 7,272,937 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 26,980,869. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $190.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.90.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company headquartered in New York City and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VZ. The company was formed in 2000 through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE and has developed into one of the largest communications providers in the United States.

Verizon’s consumer business provides wireless voice and data services, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, broadband, and related communications products.