Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 369,357 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 30,420 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $49.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $205.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

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.