Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Stance Capital LLC

Stance Capital LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 69.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,761 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 78,345 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

VZ stock opened at $45.44 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The business’s 50-day moving average is $46.92 and its 200 day moving average is $45.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market cap of $189.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Barclays boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

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.