Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Elevated Capital Advisors LLC

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,253 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 12,626 shares during the quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avanza Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,521,000 after purchasing an additional 17,495 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,184,000 after buying an additional 14,862 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,790,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $89,499,000 after buying an additional 639,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 697.0% in the fourth quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after acquiring an additional 412,018 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.28.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE VZ opened at $42.19 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 69.02%.

More Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a new U.S. connectivity role for BMW Group vehicles through its KDDI partnership, expanding its automotive IoT and connected-vehicle business and potentially adding high-margin enterprise revenue. Verizon named U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles through KDDI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs winning a mandate to manage $40 billion in Verizon retirement assets signals continued confidence in Verizon as a major corporate client and does not suggest any immediate operating weakness. Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals with Verizon, Lockheed Martin
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Verizon’s strong earnings-beat track record and said it has the ingredients for another earnings surprise, which could support the stock if upcoming results are solid. Will Verizon (VZ) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Barclays both maintained cautious “equal weight” views on Verizon, with Barclays trimming its price target, reflecting limited near-term upside even though targets remain above the current share price. Verizon Communications had its price target lowered by Barclays PLC
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports warned that SpaceX’s Starlink is intensifying competitive pressure on major U.S. telecom carriers, including Verizon, which could weigh on wireless and fixed wireless growth expectations. SpaceX’s Starlink Puts Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile Under the Microscope

Verizon Communications Company 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.