Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,219,866 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 540,753 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $432,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $50.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.33. 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 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at $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 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 insiders.

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.