Kelleher Financial Advisors Sells 14,367 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Kelleher Financial Advisors decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 23,126 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,367 shares during the quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.1% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,743,274,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,794 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,915,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,580,820 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $884,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305,471 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.05.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $46.20 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.68 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.83. The company has a market capitalization of $191.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. The firm had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.19%.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon and Ericsson are moving toward a nationwide rollout of AI-enabled network automation. Field tests reportedly improved certain downlink and uplink performance measures, offering potential efficiency and service-quality benefits. Verizon and Ericsson partner to transform AI-native Autonomous Networks
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon announced pricing for offers to purchase up to $500 million of five series of notes. The debt-management move may help reshape its liabilities, but the announcement alone does not establish a material change to its financial outlook. Verizon announces pricing terms of its tender offers for five series of notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent Q3 commentary noted that smartphone net additions were much higher than a year earlier, but revenue per account fell 1.9%, pointing to a mixed growth picture. Verizon latest earnings commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is expanding its private wireless support for NFL games, including connected officiating and deployments at overseas venues. The initiative showcases its network capabilities, though the article does not quantify its financial impact. Powering the Play: Verizon Elevates the NFL Gameday Experience Worldwide
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX is pursuing wireless-network plans with Qualcomm and reportedly exploring a Boost Mobile deal. A new entrant could intensify competition for Verizon, although the plans remain developing and no Boost deal has been finalized. SpaceX strikes major Qualcomm deal to take on Verizon and AT&T

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This trade represents a 1.10% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.