Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,117,733 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.87% of Verizon Communications worth $16,433,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advantage Trust Co lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

VZ stock opened at $49.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.60 and its 200 day moving average is $41.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $50.24. The company has a market capitalization of $206.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

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.