Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Position Boosted by Private Advisory Group LLC

Private Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 208,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 16,744 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 106,343 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,503,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares in the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors grew its position in Verizon Communications by 43.7% during the second quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 37,493 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 11,403 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,335,000. Langley Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 7,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $49.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $205.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Verizon Communications 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.