Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 82.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,327 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,875 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $42.57 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.93. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $177.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Key Stories Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a new $4 billion joint venture with BT to expand global connectivity services for enterprise customers, giving it exposure to cloud, AI, and compliance-related demand across more than 180 countries. Verizon Forms $4 Billion BT Venture For Global Enterprise Customers
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Verizon’s upcoming second-quarter earnings report to show a single-digit increase in profit, which supports the case that the company’s core business remains stable and profitable. What to Expect From Verizon Communications’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to appeal to income investors because of its long dividend-growth record, with 19 straight years of dividend increases reinforcing its defensive, high-yield profile. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon was recently dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average and replaced by Alphabet, a headline that may affect sentiment but does not directly change the company’s underlying operations. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage on Starlink and SpaceX is keeping investors focused on longer-term wireless competition, but those threats still face major capacity and infrastructure hurdles before they materially challenge Verizon’s core network business. Starlink Dominates Internet From Space. Can It Disrupt AT&T and Verizon on the Ground?
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon warned that ongoing transformation efforts will create Q2 charges, including $350 million to $450 million in severance costs and $200 million to $300 million in asset-rationalization charges, which could pressure reported results. Verizon Sees Severance Charge from Headcount Reductions
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary says Verizon looks inexpensive but still faces weak execution and competitive pressure, suggesting investors are not fully convinced the recent weakness is a buying opportunity yet. Verizon Stock Looks Cheap On Earnings But Weak On Execution

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.