Essex Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,770 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 19,001 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,433,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,733 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101,504 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after purchasing an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $48.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.01. The stock has a market cap of $206.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $50.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.88%.

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.