Fifth Third Bancorp Has $55.37 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,307,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 59,503 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $55,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the fourth 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 period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $49.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $205.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. 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 50 day simple moving average of $45.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source