Alliancebernstein L.P. Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,864,886 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,492 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $213,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.0% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 379,174 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,665,000 after buying an additional 46,699 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.4% during the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 21,915 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,667,402 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $161,182,000 after acquiring an additional 99,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 378.7% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $51.01 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $215.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.03.

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.