Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 56,261 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,023,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 56,261 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $219,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $49.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $50.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.93. The firm has a market cap of $206.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

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.