Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Position Lifted by Stance Capital LLC

Stance Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 137.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,106 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,409 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.8% of Stance Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Stance Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,568,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $67,864,000 after acquiring an additional 65,920 shares during the last quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 19.3% in the second quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 111,874 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,841,000 after acquiring an additional 18,128 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $45.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.90. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.67. The firm has a market cap of $213.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31.

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 business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. 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.