Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $114.16 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 351.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,803,562 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,182,746 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $114,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,761,000 after purchasing an additional 13,787 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,521,000 after purchasing an additional 17,495 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,665,000 after acquiring an additional 46,699 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 14,862 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,915 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications 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 transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $47.19 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. The stock has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.41. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The business 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%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s year-to-date gains have been supported by improving wireless subscriber trends, lower customer churn, and continued fiber expansion, which are helping the company’s growth outlook. Verizon Shares Rise 17.7% YTD: How Should You Play the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon also held a presentation at MoffettNathanson’s Media, Internet & Communications Conference, which may have reinforced investor focus on its strategy and outlook, but there was no clear new catalyst in the transcript headline alone. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) Presents at MoffettNathanson’s Media, Internet & Communications Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: One article warned that Verizon’s latest phone plan changes could drive away consumers, adding to worries about customer retention after the company reportedly lost more than 2.25 million customers over the past three years. Verizon’s latest phone plan change may drive away consumers
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon’s debt exchange and tender offers may improve its capital structure over time, but they also highlight the company’s large debt load and ongoing refinancing/integration risk following major acquisition activity. Verizon Debt Moves Reshape Capital Structure And Investor Risk Profile

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.