Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 63.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,828,588 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 707,275 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $91,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during 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 in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a new $4 billion joint venture with BT to expand global connectivity services for enterprise customers, giving it exposure to cloud, AI, and compliance-related demand across more than 180 countries. Verizon Forms $4 Billion BT Venture For Global Enterprise Customers
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Verizon’s upcoming second-quarter earnings report to show a single-digit increase in profit, which supports the case that the company’s core business remains stable and profitable. What to Expect From Verizon Communications’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to appeal to income investors because of its long dividend-growth record, with 19 straight years of dividend increases reinforcing its defensive, high-yield profile. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon was recently dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average and replaced by Alphabet, a headline that may affect sentiment but does not directly change the company’s underlying operations. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage on Starlink and SpaceX is keeping investors focused on longer-term wireless competition, but those threats still face major capacity and infrastructure hurdles before they materially challenge Verizon’s core network business. Starlink Dominates Internet From Space. Can It Disrupt AT&T and Verizon on the Ground?
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon warned that ongoing transformation efforts will create Q2 charges, including $350 million to $450 million in severance costs and $200 million to $300 million in asset-rationalization charges, which could pressure reported results. Verizon Sees Severance Charge from Headcount Reductions
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary says Verizon looks inexpensive but still faces weak execution and competitive pressure, suggesting investors are not fully convinced the recent weakness is a buying opportunity yet. Verizon Stock Looks Cheap On Earnings But Weak On Execution

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $177.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.93. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

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.