Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $10.29 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 253,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 80,942 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,433,114,000 after buying an additional 1,117,733 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after buying an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,238,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $992,939,000 after buying an additional 646,537 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.56.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $49.46 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.47. The stock has a market cap of $208.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

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.