Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 532,956 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,393 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.5% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $22,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $48.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Friday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

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.