Gradient Investments LLC Has $662,000 Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 252.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,629 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,193 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $662,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

VZ stock opened at $47.02 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $45.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

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.