Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Verizon by 5.5%, buying an additional 50,714 shares to hold 978,394 shares worth about $39.85 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares (~$9.92 million) and insiders disposed of 218,148 shares worth $10.78 million in the last 90 days.
• Verizon raised its quarterly dividend to $0.7075 per share (annualized $2.83), implying a ~5.6% yield, with an ex-dividend date of April 10 and payment on May 1.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 978,394 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 50,714 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $39,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upgraded 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 report on Thursday, February 5th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 target price on Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.32.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The business's fifty day moving average price is $47.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.27.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.