Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 440,366 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 48.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,341,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 440,366 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $58,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $2,504,150,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,130,494,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615,075 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $9,009,388,000 after acquiring an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 4,274.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,917,508 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $82,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,675 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $50.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Insider Activity

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 transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.