Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,605 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,433,114,000 after buying an additional 1,117,733 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after acquiring an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,989,427,000 after acquiring an additional 557,576 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,238,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,445 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after acquiring an additional 646,537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $49.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The company 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%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.56.

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.