Private Advisory Group LLC Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Private Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 255,237 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,433 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during 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 purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $50.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.51 and a 200 day moving average of $43.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.32.

Verizon Communications 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.