Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 21,915 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position 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 buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $48.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.84. The firm has a market cap of $206.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Insider Activity

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

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.