Dupree Financial Group LLC Sells 59,762 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Dupree Financial Group LLC cut its Verizon stake by 17.1% in the first quarter, selling 59,762 shares and leaving it with 290,007 shares worth about $14.56 million. Verizon remains the firm’s largest holding at 5.9% of its portfolio.
• Verizon’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $1.28 versus the $1.21 consensus, while revenue rose 2.7% year over year to $34.44 billion. The company also reaffirmed strong profitability metrics and guided FY2026 EPS at 4.950–4.990.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 6.1%. Analyst sentiment is mixed but constructive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a price target of $50.59.

Dupree Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 290,007 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 59,762 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 5.9% of Dupree Financial Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Dupree Financial Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 31,584,162 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,286,423,000 after purchasing an additional 7,509,055 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,747,930,000 after buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:VZ opened at $46.43 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $46.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.86. The firm has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.02%.

Verizon Communications 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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