State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Purchases 63,751 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,458,784 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 63,751 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $64,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,761,000 after purchasing an additional 13,787 shares in the last quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 2,916.8% in the second quarter. Cadinha & Co. LLC now owns 347,716 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,046,000 after purchasing an additional 336,190 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,665,000 after buying an additional 46,699 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,297,469 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $309,551,000 after buying an additional 722,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,196,000 after buying an additional 21,915 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

VZ stock opened at $49.00 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $50.24. The stock has a market cap of $206.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.93. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 5.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. Barclays initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.