Elevated Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,626 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.28.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $42.19 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a new U.S. connectivity role for BMW Group vehicles through its KDDI partnership, expanding its automotive IoT and connected-vehicle business and potentially adding high-margin enterprise revenue. Verizon named U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles through KDDI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs winning a mandate to manage $40 billion in Verizon retirement assets signals continued confidence in Verizon as a major corporate client and does not suggest any immediate operating weakness. Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals with Verizon, Lockheed Martin
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Verizon’s strong earnings-beat track record and said it has the ingredients for another earnings surprise, which could support the stock if upcoming results are solid. Will Verizon (VZ) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Barclays both maintained cautious “equal weight” views on Verizon, with Barclays trimming its price target, reflecting limited near-term upside even though targets remain above the current share price. Verizon Communications had its price target lowered by Barclays PLC
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports warned that SpaceX’s Starlink is intensifying competitive pressure on major U.S. telecom carriers, including Verizon, which could weigh on wireless and fixed wireless growth expectations. SpaceX’s Starlink Puts Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile Under the Microscope

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.