Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 570,195 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 39,780 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE VZ opened at $48.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $204.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.54. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its 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 the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.88%.

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.