Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 30,277 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 419,116 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,277 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $689,000. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth $771,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Evercore upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.32.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $36.38 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.