Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,000 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $762,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.42. The company has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

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.