Advisory Services Network LLC Purchases 10,890 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 373,429 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 10,890 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $16,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.52 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.90. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $213.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VZ. William Blair raised Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

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.