Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 374,557 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,516 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,286,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.44 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

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.