Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Old North State Trust LLC

Old North State Trust LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 82.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,939 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.2% of Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Old North State Trust LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

VZ opened at $50.52 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.90.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

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.