WealthShield Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

WealthShield Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 57.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,267 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 28,237 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,286,423,000 after acquiring an additional 7,509,055 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.28.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is being highlighted as a potentially attractive dividend stock, with Barron’s saying now may be a good time to buy income-oriented names like VZ as yields look more compelling. Why Verizon, Clorox and More Dividend Stocks Are Flashing a Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon won a new automotive connectivity contract through its KDDI partnership, becoming the U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles, which could support growth in its enterprise and IoT business. Verizon named U.S. connectivity provider for newly manufactured BMW Group vehicles through KDDI partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also flagged Verizon as a telecom name worth owning, noting its fiber and wireless expansion strategy and suggesting it may have a good setup for its next earnings report. T or VZ: Which Telecom Stock Deserves a Place in Your Portfolio?
• Positive Sentiment: Another recent report said Verizon has a strong earnings surprise history and could beat estimates again, which tends to support investor confidence ahead of results. Will Verizon (VZ) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Goldman Sachs won asset-management mandates tied to Verizon’s retirement assets, but this is mainly a financial-services arrangement rather than an operational development for Verizon. Goldman Sachs wins $70 billion in asset management deals with Verizon, Lockheed Martin
• Neutral Sentiment: Some broader commentary on enterprise internet reliability and telecom competition, including Starlink-related pressure, may add noise to the sector outlook, but it is not a direct negative catalyst for Verizon itself. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) Dow Exit Deepens Starlink Market Pressure

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE VZ traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.14. 27,697,528 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,171,120. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.10 and its 200-day moving average is $45.97. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.26. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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.