Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Webster Bank N. A. lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 55.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,232 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 24,255 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VZ. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:VZ opened at $45.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.72.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Verizon Communications 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.