Commerce Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Commerce Bank reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 544,811 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 22,090 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.42. The company has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 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.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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 expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This represents a 1.00% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

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.