Fulton Bank N.A. Has $7.69 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,239 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,057 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,286,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Verizon was officially removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average and replaced by Alphabet, which sparked selling as investors viewed the move as a sign of shifting market leadership away from traditional telecom. Why Verizon (VZ) Shares Are Trading Lower Today
• Negative Sentiment: New reports about SpaceX’s push into mobile services are adding more fear that Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile could face long-term pricing and subscriber pressure from a well-funded new competitor. SpaceX Threat Wipes Out $46B in Market Value From ‘Big Three’ Telecoms—And the Pain May Not Be Over
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon also disclosed that ongoing transformation efforts will create a sizable Q2 severance charge and asset rationalization costs, which could weigh on reported results in the near term. Verizon (VZ) Sees Severance Charge from Headcount Reductions
• Neutral Sentiment: On the positive side, Verizon and BT are expanding their global connectivity joint venture to serve more than 3,000 enterprise customers across 180+ countries, supporting its enterprise and international growth strategy. Can Verizon’s Global Connectivity Expansion With BT Aid the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary says Verizon still looks cheap on earnings, but that valuation appeal is being offset by concerns about execution and competition. Verizon (VZ) Stock Looks Cheap On Earnings But Weak On Execution

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $41.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $175.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.92.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

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.