Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $143.40 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,349,264 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 225,440 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $143,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $113,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $49.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.30. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

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.