Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys 213,722 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 258.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 296,339 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 213,722 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $27,000. Lam Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders 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 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price 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. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications 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.