Flossbach Von Storch SE Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 105.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 197,549 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,315 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after acquiring an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,434,000 after acquiring an additional 25,156 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $97,059,000 after acquiring an additional 316,854 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 127.0% during the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,798,000 after acquiring an additional 103,046 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $2,171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

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.