Gateway Wealth Partners LLC Has $1.37 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 33.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,305 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,429 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,348,276.88. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $49.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications 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.