Bleakley Financial Group LLC Buys 52,801 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 44.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 171,133 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,801 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 335,856 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $14,761,000 after acquiring an additional 13,787 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB grew its position in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,521,000 after acquiring an additional 17,495 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,665,000 after acquiring an additional 46,699 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp grew its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,915 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $48.47 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.06 and its 200-day moving average is $44.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $202.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank downgraded Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

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.