Global Retirement Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased 210,018 Verizon shares worth approximately $8.9 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 62.06% of the company.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates of $1.27, although revenue declined 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion. The company pays an annualized dividend of $2.83, representing a 5.6% yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $50.84; Verizon shares recently traded at $50.12.

Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 210,018 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $8,892,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 804,576 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $34,066,000 after acquiring an additional 12,824 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.7% in the second quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 208,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,824,000 after acquiring an additional 16,744 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 106,343 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,503,000 after acquiring an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 43.7% during the second quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 37,493 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 11,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $1,335,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

VZ opened at $50.12 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $208.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 73.70%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.84.

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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