Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Wilsey Asset Management Inc.

Wilsey Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 939,830 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,035 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 5.8% of Wilsey Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Wilsey Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $39,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.0% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 11,235 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,742 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,188,524 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $50,322,000 after purchasing an additional 40,042 shares in the last quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 757,212 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $32,060,000 after purchasing an additional 52,045 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 76.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,154,202 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $91,209,000 after purchasing an additional 931,588 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $46.89 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.70.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.84.

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.