Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stake Trimmed by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,339,086 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 17,457 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $99,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered 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. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $50.10 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $208.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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 firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.