Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Has $1.23 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,075 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 18,295 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd 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 during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

VZ stock opened at $50.15 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $211.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.56.

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.