Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,388,656 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 317,549 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.13% of Verizon Communications worth $228,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.2%
VZ stock opened at $48.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $202.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.17. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.84.
Read Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Profile
(
Free Report)
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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