Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 690,518 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 880,445 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $30,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its position in Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 14,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 68,864 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,980,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $48.62 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $50.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.26 and a 200 day moving average of $42.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $205.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

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 shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

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.