Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stock Holdings Increased by abrdn plc

abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,317,633 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 83,941 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.13% of Verizon Communications worth $211,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.0% during the third quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 7,628 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the third quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 17,491 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ traded up $0.33 on Wednesday, reaching $40.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,813,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,911,574. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $168.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $40.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.54.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 65.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 11,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $453,154.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $596,439.20. This represents a 43.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,995. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Argus upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.08.

About Verizon Communications

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).