Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 315,546 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,553,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 315,546 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $150,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.34 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $205.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.