Pinnacle Holdings LLC Sells 11,303 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Pinnacle Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 85.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,303 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $78,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $50.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.91 and a 200-day moving average of $47.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. 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 currently 73.70%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.