WNY Asset Management LLC Makes New $3.21 Million Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

WNY Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 63,872 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,206,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.88 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $195.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.44.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio 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.