Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases 92,564 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,479,166 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 92,564 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $141,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE VZ opened at $46.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $193.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $49.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.75. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $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 4.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 69.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 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.