Rockland Trust Co. Buys 17,729 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 480,020 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 17,729 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 17,901 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $47.00 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.25.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

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.