Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 114.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,855 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 92,152 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $47.84 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.93 and a 200 day moving average of $45.11. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

About Verizon Communications

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.