Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,758,725 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,439 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $128,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during 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 last quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.42. 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 capitalization of $208.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G 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.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

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

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.