Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 419,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,277 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third 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, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its position in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second 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 last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.32.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.8%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.27. The stock has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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