First County Bank CT Sells 12,497 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

First County Bank CT trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,422 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,497 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $2,504,150,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $637,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905,101 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $161,346,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. 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, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.32.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on 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 owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.