Cullen Investment Group LTD. Sells 80,945 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Cullen Investment Group LTD. cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report) by 44.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,202 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 80,945 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,873.09. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.32.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Verizon Communications

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Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.36 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $212.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.05 and its 200 day moving average is $43.17.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Verizon Communications Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

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