NWF Advisory Services Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

NWF Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,769 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,415 shares during the period. NWF Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 9,257 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 9,788 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $45.44 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.92 and a 200 day moving average of $45.66. The stock has a market cap of $189.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.