Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,188,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,042 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $50,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 757,212 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $32,060,000 after purchasing an additional 52,045 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 76.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,154,202 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $91,209,000 after buying an additional 931,588 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 44,528 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after buying an additional 1,233 shares in the last quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.7% in the second quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Finally, Clark Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the second quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC now owns 7,214 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $46.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $194.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.29 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.70. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given 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 yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.