Legal & General Group Plc Has $1.16 Billion Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,344,618 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 768,029 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,157,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.91 and a 200-day moving average of $47.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

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.