Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 848,780 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,090 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 6.3% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $37,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.32. 5,967,888 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,706,479. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.19 and its 200 day moving average is $42.78. The stock has a market cap of $216.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.