abrdn plc Has $211.30 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,317,633 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 83,941 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.13% of Verizon Communications worth $211,296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Trust Point Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 38,907 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 4,247 shares in the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 74,302 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389 shares in the last quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,369 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 14,870 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holistic Planning LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Holistic Planning LLC now owns 14,857 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $40.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $168.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.61 and its 200-day moving average is $41.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.78%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,590 shares in the company, valued at $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.08.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on VZ

Verizon Communications Profile

(Free Report)

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

Receive News & Ratings for Verizon Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Verizon Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.