Loudon Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Loudon Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 76.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,147 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 25,893 shares during the quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued 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 price target of $50.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $51.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.86.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.15%.

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.