Danske Bank A S Acquires 375,996 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,088,043 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 375,996 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $130,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $50.18 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $208.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors 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 payout ratio is 73.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.