Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 872,465 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 153,593 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $36,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position 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 valued at $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Nine investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.84.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Verizon Communications
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
Verizon Communications Stock Performance
Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.18 on Thursday. 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 $208.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.38.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.
About Verizon Communications
(
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.
Further Reading
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.
Before you consider Verizon Communications, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verizon Communications wasn't on the list.
While Verizon Communications currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Robotics and automation are rapidly becoming essential infrastructure across healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, and many other industries. "Physical AI" is coming. Learn which seven companies are most positioned to benefit as intelligent robots enter the workforce.
Get This Free Report
