Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 16,546 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 64.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 16,546 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avanza Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,521,000 after acquiring an additional 17,495 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position 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 valued at $16,665,000 after acquiring an additional 46,699 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp increased its position 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 valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 14,862 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,667,402 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $161,182,000 after acquiring an additional 99,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $45.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 69.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

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.