Shell Asset Management Co. Has $3.34 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 76,048 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 39,970 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $2,504,150,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615,075 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $113,004,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.00 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $50.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.93. The company has a market cap of $206.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.