Sowell Financial Services LLC Buys 19,560 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 174,004 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,560 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. State Street Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after buying an additional 4,905,101 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $915,552,000 after buying an additional 3,743,892 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $385,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $208.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $48.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.47.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

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.