Rockland Trust Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 448,861 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,104 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. First National Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.2% during the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 247,208 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $10,865,000 after purchasing an additional 9,856 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 610,238 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,820,000 after buying an additional 77,991 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,364 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 31,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after buying an additional 8,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 226,735 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,965,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $47.01 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $47.58. The firm has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.76.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

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.