Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Holdings Lifted by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 416,289 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 25,260 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisory Research Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.6% in the third quarter. Advisory Research Inc. now owns 185,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,149,000 after acquiring an additional 27,696 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the third quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 26,836 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,214,147 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $273,112,000 after purchasing an additional 292,350 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after purchasing an additional 646,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 15,438 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 6,098 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded up $0.71 on Friday, reaching $51.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,967,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,706,479. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $216.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.78.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Evercore raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.03.

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.