11,738 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Acquired by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,738 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $243,000. W1M Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.0% during the second quarter. W1M Asset Management Ltd now owns 25,239 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 60.9% in the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 7,143 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703 shares during the period. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.4% in the second quarter. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC now owns 111,773 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 26,728 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 16.9% in the second quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 26,456 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.