Trajan Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Trajan Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 688,280 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,047 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 1.1% of Trajan Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $29,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,790,000 after purchasing an additional 31,354 shares during the period. Cornerstone Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,434,000 after buying an additional 25,156 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after purchasing an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.0% during the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,798,000 after acquiring an additional 103,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $45.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.42. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. 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. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

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.