Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $26.82 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 610,238 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,991 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $26,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE VZ opened at $47.01 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.76. The company has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $47.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Verizon Communications

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.