Stance Capital LLC Reduces Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Stance Capital LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 69.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,761 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 78,345 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $45.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The business had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

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.