Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15,351.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,811 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 255,149 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 312.0% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

VZ stock opened at $50.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.42. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.84.

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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