4,352,698 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Purchased by Jupiter Topco LLC

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,352,698 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $184,260,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Verizon Communications at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,286,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price 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. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications 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.

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