Focus Partners Wealth Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 43.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,629,283 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 496,935 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $67,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Avanza Fonder AB lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 331,962 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,521,000 after acquiring an additional 17,495 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 78,172 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 14,862 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in 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 valued at $89,499,000 after acquiring an additional 639,380 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after acquiring an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $47.11 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.55. The firm has a market cap of $196.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.24.

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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 69.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

About Verizon Communications

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.