Swedbank AB Acquires 2,541,133 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 59.2% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 2,541,133 shares for a total holding of approximately 0.16% of the company, valued at $295.5 million.
• Verizon Communications reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $1.22 EPS surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.19, while revenue rose to $34.5 billion, up 5.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, reflecting a yield of 6.3%, with the new dividend set to be paid on November 3rd.

Swedbank AB raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 59.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,830,479 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,541,133 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.16% of Verizon Communications worth $295,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 94.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,422 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,608,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 82,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,283,000 after buying an additional 2,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE VZ traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.53. 29,150,933 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,901,778. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).