First National Bank of Omaha Sells 22,988 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• First National Bank of Omaha cut its Verizon stake by 34.4% in the second quarter, selling 22,988 shares and retaining 43,910 shares worth approximately $1.88 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook: nine rate Verizon a Buy while 12 rate it a Hold, with a consensus price target of $50.84. The stock recently opened at $50.19, near its 52-week high of $51.68.
• Verizon beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $1.30 versus $1.27 expected, although revenue fell 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.7075, representing a 5.6% annualized yield.

First National Bank of Omaha lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 34.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,910 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 22,988 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $925,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $50.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.65 and a 200 day moving average of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at $5,348,276.88. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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