Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Cove Private Wealth LLC

Cove Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 117.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,100 shares during the quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 372,787,016 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,130,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615,075 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 208,213,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,009,388,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205,449 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 100,326,792 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,322,700,000 after buying an additional 1,101,504 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $2,504,150,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $47.01 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.76. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $47.58. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $198.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded 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 note on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.02.

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.