Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,102 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,190 shares during the quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon and BT Group announced a 50:50 joint venture to combine their international enterprise operations, which could strengthen Verizon’s global connectivity offering and improve its long-term competitiveness. Reuters article on BT, Verizon announce joint venture for international enterprise units
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary notes that the BT-Verizon deal could simplify Verizon’s international operations and better position the company for multinational enterprise customers, but the benefit is likely longer term. WSJ article on BT, Verizon to Form International Joint Venture
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, creating index rebalancing pressure and likely heavy selling from passive funds tracking the benchmark. MSN article on Dow Jones S&P indices replaces Verizon with Alphabet
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Verizon expects an estimated second-quarter loss tied to asset reclassification and restructuring charges added to concerns about earnings quality and near-term profitability. Seeking Alpha article on Verizon reclassifies assets, expects estimated Q2 loss
• Negative Sentiment: Broader telecom weakness was also amplified by speculation that SpaceX/Starlink could eventually challenge legacy wireless carriers, increasing competitive pressure on Verizon. Barron’s article on SpaceX might bring mobile phone to market

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $184.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.89.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Company 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.