Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 13,035 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,976 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 13,035 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. State Street Corp increased its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $637,812,000 after purchasing an additional 4,905,101 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $385,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965,033 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:VZ opened at $48.43 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.87. The company has a market capitalization of $202.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.