Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,572 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. Dbs Bank lowered Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $45.84 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

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.