Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 39,780 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 570,195 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 39,780 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. now owns 61,022 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares during the last quarter. Jefferson Bridge Capital LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $884,000. Kentucky Trust Co lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 26,923 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Cane Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $783,000. Finally, V2 Financial group LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. V2 Financial group LLC now owns 15,393 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. 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 report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.56.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of VZ opened at $48.57 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $204.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.54.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The business had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 69.88%.

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.