Savant Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Savant Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,757 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 31,314 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of VZ opened at $47.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.07. The firm has a market cap of $199.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.