Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Dearborn Partners LLC

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners reduced its Verizon stake by 10.1% in the second quarter, selling 67,628 shares and retaining 601,890 shares valued at approximately $25.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon’s stock.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, exceeding estimates of $1.27, while revenue fell 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion, below expectations. The company guided to fiscal 2026 EPS of $4.99–$5.04.
• Verizon’s quarterly dividend is $0.7075 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.83 payout and a 5.6% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.84, near the stock’s reported $50.11 price.

Dearborn Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 601,890 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 67,628 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $25,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 17,901 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 6,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $50.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.42.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VZ. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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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