Acropolis Investment Management LLC Sells 11,603 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Acropolis Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 30.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,001 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 11,603 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $16,665,000 after purchasing an additional 46,699 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB raised 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 purchasing an additional 17,495 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 21,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 378.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 93,732 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,120,000 after purchasing an additional 74,151 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8%

VZ stock opened at $50.34 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.51 and its 200 day moving average is $43.27. The stock has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

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.