Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,629,283 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 496,935 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $67,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $47.11 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.55. The company has a market cap of $196.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 69.02%.

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.