Alley Investment Management Company LLC Acquires 24,565 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,896 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,565 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Avanza Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,521,000 after acquiring an additional 17,495 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 14,862 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $89,499,000 after purchasing an additional 639,380 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 697.0% during the fourth quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after purchasing an additional 412,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $97,059,000 after purchasing an additional 316,854 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Verizon Communications News

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s BT Group joint venture could improve its international enterprise reach and create a more scalable global connectivity platform. Reuters: BT, Verizon announce joint venture for international enterprise units
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to debate whether the Dow removal is a temporary index-rebalancing event or a sign of weaker long-term sentiment toward Verizon. Motley Fool: Verizon Gets Booted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, prompting selling pressure from index funds and signaling a lower profile among blue-chip stocks. Yahoo Finance: Why Verizon Shares Are Trading Lower Today
• Negative Sentiment: The BT joint venture comes with added transformation costs, and Verizon disclosed it could take up to an $800 million hit tied to the deal. Stocktwits: Verizon Flags Up To $800M BT Group JV Hit
• Negative Sentiment: Investor worries are also rising that SpaceX could challenge legacy wireless carriers, adding competitive pressure to Verizon’s long-term growth outlook. Barrons: SpaceX Might Bring Mobile Phone to Market

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $42.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a market capitalization of $176.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.02%.

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.