Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 33.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,779 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 20,581 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hudock Inc. increased its position 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 worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Camden National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.9%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $50.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. 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. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president 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 the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

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.