Fulton Bank N.A. Has $7.69 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,239 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 18,057 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,521,000 after buying an additional 17,495 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after buying an additional 14,862 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,790,000 after acquiring an additional 31,354 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,499,000 after acquiring an additional 639,380 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the 4th quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after acquiring an additional 412,018 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Negative Sentiment: Verizon was officially removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average and replaced by Alphabet, which sparked selling as investors viewed the move as a sign of shifting market leadership away from traditional telecom. Why Verizon (VZ) Shares Are Trading Lower Today
• Negative Sentiment: New reports about SpaceX’s push into mobile services are adding more fear that Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile could face long-term pricing and subscriber pressure from a well-funded new competitor. SpaceX Threat Wipes Out $46B in Market Value From ‘Big Three’ Telecoms—And the Pain May Not Be Over
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon also disclosed that ongoing transformation efforts will create a sizable Q2 severance charge and asset rationalization costs, which could weigh on reported results in the near term. Verizon (VZ) Sees Severance Charge from Headcount Reductions
• Neutral Sentiment: On the positive side, Verizon and BT are expanding their global connectivity joint venture to serve more than 3,000 enterprise customers across 180+ countries, supporting its enterprise and international growth strategy. Can Verizon’s Global Connectivity Expansion With BT Aid the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary says Verizon still looks cheap on earnings, but that valuation appeal is being offset by concerns about execution and competition. Verizon (VZ) Stock Looks Cheap On Earnings But Weak On Execution

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE VZ opened at $41.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $175.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Dbs Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

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.