Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,165,380 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 290,920 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $49,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,117,471,000 after purchasing an additional 8,289,877 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.10 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $208.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Nine investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% 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.