Aberdeen Group plc Has $199.86 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,906,937 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 116,190 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $199,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 61,052 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 6,202 shares in the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 165,908 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,757,000 after buying an additional 58,725 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

VZ stock opened at $49.46 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $208.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.44. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.56.

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.