SHP Wealth Management Purchases New Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 22,823 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $930,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 worth $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,357,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

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

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.