Welch Group LLC Purchases 21,632 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Welch Group LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,203,860 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 21,632 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises about 2.3% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $60,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 17,495 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.5% in 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 buying an additional 14,862 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $89,499,000 after buying an additional 639,380 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 697.0% in the 4th quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after buying an additional 412,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after buying an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.43 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

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.