Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 18,295 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,075 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 18,295 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $637,812,000 after buying an additional 4,905,101 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 21,159,040 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $915,552,000 after acquiring an additional 3,743,892 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at about $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $385,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $50.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $211.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. 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 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.56.

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.