Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 4,352,698 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $184,260,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.42. The stock has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,825.96. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.