Deutsche Bank AG Has $750.38 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,423,287 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 230,333 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.44% of Verizon Communications worth $750,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avanza Fonder AB raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $13,521,000 after acquiring an additional 17,495 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,665,000 after acquiring an additional 46,699 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 14,862 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,667,402 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $161,182,000 after acquiring an additional 99,400 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.35 and a 200-day moving average of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

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.

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