56,669 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Acquired by Marshall Investment Management LLC

Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 56,669 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,000. Verizon Communications comprises about 1.3% of Marshall Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $51.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $215.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.86. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.67.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 57.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.