Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 135.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,883,484 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,656,592 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.07% of Verizon Communications worth $117,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 109,152 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,446,000 after buying an additional 10,845 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,056 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 3,407 shares during the period. Hedges Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 54,850 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,234,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 36,879 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,502,000 after buying an additional 5,211 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’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 value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:VZ opened at $46.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.71. The stock has a market cap of $194.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.88%.

Verizon Communications 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.