Occidental Asset Management LLC Sells 13,743 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Occidental Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,957 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,743 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 31,912 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 115.8% in the 2nd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 13,908 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 7,464 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 26,987 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 2,268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.0%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $38.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $164.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.32, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.34. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.35 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm had revenue of $33.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.50 to $51.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas downgraded Verizon Communications from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Verizon Communications from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.25.

Verizon Communications News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory approvals complete for Frontier acquisition — Verizon expects the transaction to close Jan. 20, bringing roughly 30 million fiber passings and enabling cross‑selling of fiber and 5G services, which could materially expand growth runway and ARPU over time. GlobeNewswire: Approvals to Complete Transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: AST SpaceMobile wins Pentagon contract — headlines lifted ASTS shares and remind investors Verizon has partnerships with LEO satellite providers, which could support future wholesale or coverage initiatives, but the news is primarily a catalyst for ASTS rather than VZ. MarketBeat: Pentagon Deal Sends AST SpaceMobile Soaring
• Negative Sentiment: Widespread outage and $20 customer credits — a multi‑hour nationwide outage tied to a software issue triggered customer complaints and scrutiny; Verizon is offering a $20 redeemable credit to affected users, which raises short‑term costs and reputational risk and has prompted calls for mandatory refunds. This outage is the principal near‑term negative driving sentiment. Investopedia: Why Verizon Customers Are Getting $20 Payouts
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cut — Sanford C. Bernstein trimmed its VZ target from $46 to $44 and moved to Market Perform, signaling more cautious near‑term expectations; the change tempers upside in the short term. TickerReport / Benzinga: Analyst Price Target Cut

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.