Cove Private Wealth LLC Buys 12,100 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Cove Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 117.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,443 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 12,100 shares during the period. Cove Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hudock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% in the second quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays assumed 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 for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $47.01 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.76.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released 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. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Verizon Communications 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.