Danske Bank A S Invests $161.35 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,671,131 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $161,346,000. Danske Bank A S owned 0.09% of Verizon Communications at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. United Bank grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,568,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $67,864,000 after buying an additional 65,920 shares during the period. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 19.3% in the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 111,874 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,841,000 after acquiring an additional 18,128 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

VZ stock opened at $50.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $45.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.90. The stock has a market cap of $213.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. 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. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Verizon Communications Company 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.