Payden & Rygel Sells 14,600 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Payden & Rygel decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 335,290 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,600 shares during the quarter. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stronghold Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 101,054 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,116,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,557 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after buying an additional 6,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sherry Group Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.88 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.57. The company has a market cap of $195.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.