Burney Co. Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Burney Co. cut its Verizon stake by 12.7% in the first quarter, selling 24,175 shares and leaving it with 165,557 shares valued at about $8.31 million.
• Verizon’s latest earnings topped EPS expectations, reporting $1.28 per share versus the $1.21 consensus, though revenue of $34.44 billion came in slightly below forecasts.
• The company continues to offer a large dividend, declaring a quarterly payout of $0.7075 per share, or $2.83 annualized, for a yield of 6.7%.

Burney Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,557 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 24,175 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,443,618 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $373,670,000 after purchasing an additional 239,388 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the first quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 75,936 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.0% in the first quarter. Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc now owns 6,844 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 68,588 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Finally, Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,280 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Dbs Bank cut Verizon Communications from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:VZ opened at $42.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.95.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

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.

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