ORG Partners LLC Acquires 26,504 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 293.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,550 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 26,504 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centurion Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.1% in the third quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,490 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.34 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Verizon Communications

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.