Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,443,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 239,388 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $373,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.92. The stock had a trading volume of 13,651,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,359,867. 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 company has a market capitalization of $179.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.95.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’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 analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

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.