Stonebrook Private Inc. Sells 30,007 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Stonebrook Private Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 58.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,340 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 30,007 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,286,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,125,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $45.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $191.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

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.