Assetmark Inc. Purchases 99,400 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,667,402 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 99,400 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $161,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the second quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 144,973 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,245,000 after acquiring an additional 7,326 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.1% in the second quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 236,417 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $10,230,000 after acquiring an additional 25,527 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,609 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 10,577 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. 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. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $49.41 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $50.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.89.

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 business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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.