Osprey Private Wealth LLC Buys 12,500 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Osprey Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 337,053 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,920,000 after buying an additional 17,086 shares during the period. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,343 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC now owns 465,480 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $23,367,000 after purchasing an additional 44,560 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 9,459 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 1,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is being highlighted as a potentially attractive dividend stock, with Barron’s saying now may be a good time to buy income-oriented names like VZ as yields look more compelling. Why Verizon, Clorox and More Dividend Stocks Are Flashing a Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon won a new automotive connectivity contract through its KDDI partnership, becoming the U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles, which could support growth in its enterprise and IoT business. Verizon named U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles through KDDI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also flagged Verizon as a telecom name worth owning, noting its fiber and wireless expansion strategy and suggesting it may have a good setup for its next earnings report. T or VZ: Which Telecom Stock Deserves a Place in Your Portfolio?
• Positive Sentiment: Another recent report said Verizon has a strong earnings surprise history and could beat estimates again, which tends to support investor confidence ahead of results. Will Verizon (VZ) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs won asset-management mandates tied to Verizon’s retirement assets, but this is mainly a financial-services arrangement rather than an operational development for Verizon. Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals with Verizon, Lockheed Martin
• Neutral Sentiment: Some broader commentary on enterprise internet reliability and telecom competition, including Starlink-related pressure, may add noise to the sector outlook, but it is not a direct negative catalyst for Verizon itself. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Dow Exit Deepens Starlink Market Pressure

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $42.14. 27,697,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,171,120. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted 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, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.28.

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.