Northern Trust Corp Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

28 Apr 2025, 09:02 by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat Gem

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,043,310 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 4,951,733 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.07% of Verizon Communications worth $1,801,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,261,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $170,407,000 after purchasing an additional 74,630 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 167,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,703,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 175.7% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 11,063 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 7,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendel Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 23,654 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $41.91 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.96. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.59 and a twelve month high of $47.36. The company has a market capitalization of $179.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 12.99%. The firm had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.31 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wolfe Research lowered Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.35.

View Our Latest Analysis on VZ

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,085 shares of company stock valued at $1,422,495 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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