Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV Has $5.52 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,558 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 37,561 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for 1.0% of Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,521,000 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 VZ. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 23,518 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 419,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $17,071,000 after acquiring an additional 30,277 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 978,394 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $39,850,000 after acquiring an additional 50,714 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 135,784 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,530,000 after acquiring an additional 23,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Private Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 207.9% in the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,851 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 22,183 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $50.34 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.27. The stock has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. 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 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.32.

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.