NEOS Investment Management LLC Buys 178,825 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 530,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 178,825 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 76.7% during the third quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 5,316 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.1% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,812 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,618,000 after buying an additional 2,430 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.5% in the third quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 85,636 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 48.9% in the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,341,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $58,940,000 after acquiring an additional 440,366 shares during the period. Finally, denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $598,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.02.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:VZ opened at $49.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $50.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.97. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

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.