Danske Bank A S Invests $161.35 Million in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,671,131 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $161,346,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,433,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,733 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $2,504,150,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after buying an additional 557,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,238,866,000 after buying an additional 1,203,445 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $213.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $51.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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 $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore lifted their target price on 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 reissued a “market perform” rating and issued 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 issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

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.