Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon by 191.5% in the first quarter, ending with 235,368 shares valued at about $11.8 million.
• Other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions in Verizon, and hedge funds and institutions now own 62.06% of the company’s stock.
• Verizon reported Q1 EPS of $1.28, beating estimates, while revenue came in slightly below expectations. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, implying a 6.1% yield.

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 191.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 235,368 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 154,617 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambient Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 30.2% during the first quarter. Cambient Family Office LLC now owns 16,887 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,914 shares during the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $522,000. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 11,210 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,330 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $46.43 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The stock has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.24. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.83.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio 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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