Compass Financial Management LLC Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,595 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,484,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

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.