Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC boosted its Verizon stake by 27.2% in Q4, buying 32,179 shares and bringing its total holding to 150,561 shares worth about $6.13 million.
• Several other hedge funds also increased or initiated positions, and institutional investors and hedge funds now own 62.06% of Verizon’s stock.
• Verizon reported Q1 earnings of $1.28 per share, beating estimates, while analysts remain moderately positive overall with an average price target of $50.59.

Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 27.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,561 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 32,179 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 2.1% of Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Wealth Advisors of Tampa Bay LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Collaborative Wealth Managment Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $248,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 171,133 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,970,000 after purchasing an additional 52,801 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC now owns 66,228 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 9,559 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 164,283 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,691,000 after purchasing an additional 31,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arnhold LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 450,251 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $18,339,000 after purchasing an additional 37,500 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Verizon Communications from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $48.47 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a PEG ratio of 1.15 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.93.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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