Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stake Boosted by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,305,471 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $884,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,593,486 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $67,468,000 after buying an additional 203,997 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the second quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,466 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,830 shares in the last quarter. John Boyer Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.2% in the second quarter. John Boyer Inc. now owns 50,590 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the second quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 13,463 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,126,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.19 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $208.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

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.