Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Transcend Capital Advisors increased its Verizon stake by 405.3% in the second quarter, adding 55,400 shares to hold 69,069 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.84. Verizon recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, ahead of estimates, though revenue declined 0.7% year over year.
• Verizon pays a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.83 dividend and a 5.7% yield. CEO Kyle Malady separately sold 1,100 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 405.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,069 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 55,400 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 8,426 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 447.5% in the second quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 23,319 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 19,060 shares during the period. Mindset Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.5% in the second quarter. Mindset Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 30.4% during the second quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 1,005,285 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $42,564,000 after acquiring an additional 234,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 46 Peaks LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $296,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. 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 research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. 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. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $49.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

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.

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