Sit Investment Associates Inc. Has $3.23 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 48.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,375 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 75,011 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $29,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $45.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

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.