Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 572,542 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,405 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.5% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after acquiring an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,238,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after acquiring an additional 646,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $47.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.73 and a 200-day moving average of $44.29. The company has a market capitalization of $197.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The company 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 revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.