Schroder Investment Management Group Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,086,626 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,547 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.19% of Verizon Communications worth $355,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of VZ opened at $51.17 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.59. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.