Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Buys 203,997 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,593,486 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 203,997 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.3% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $67,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.19 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve 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 market capitalization of $208.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.65 and its 200 day moving average is $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 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.