Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 94,605 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,620,964 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 94,605 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $68,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors increased its position in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $47.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.81. 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 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

About Verizon Communications

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.