Diversify Advisory Services LLC Buys 396,476 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2,969.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 409,828 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 396,476 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.19 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

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.