Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,770,909 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 188,244 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $117,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $49.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.29. 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 stock has a market cap of $205.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.