Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 738,521 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 45,113 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 5.0% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $31,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its position 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current 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 given 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 (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

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.