Lbp Am Sa Acquires 286,053 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa bought an additional 286,053 shares of Verizon, raising its stake by 298% to 382,040 shares worth about $15.56 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers this quarter — Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares and insiders sold 218,148 shares totaling roughly $10.78 million, with corporate insiders now owning 0.10% of the stock.
• Verizon raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 (annualized $2.83, yield 6.3%, ex-dividend April 10) and issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 4.900–4.950 after reporting a slight Q1 beat.

Lbp Am Sa lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 298.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,040 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 286,053 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $16,433,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,733 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,238,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,445 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $992,939,000 after purchasing an additional 646,537 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $45.06 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.29. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.66.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.56.

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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