Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 230,333 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,423,287 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 230,333 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $750,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,286,423,000 after buying an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,125,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.84 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $47.35 and its 200 day moving average is $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $191.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Dbs Bank lowered Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

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.