Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,726,171 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,001 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $115,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $48.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.9%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

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.