Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management reduced its Verizon stake by 7.6% in the second quarter, selling 30,420 shares and retaining 369,357 shares valued at approximately $15.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Verizon’s CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares worth $53,548 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Corporate insiders own approximately 0.03% of the company.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, ahead of the $1.27 consensus, while revenue of $34.25 billion missed estimates and declined 0.7% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.84, and the company offers a 5.7% dividend yield.

Heritage Investors Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,357 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 30,420 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 46 Peaks LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% during the second quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,067 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Capital City Trust Co. FL grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 7,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 62,630 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,652,000 after buying an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 13,761 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 5,311 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $49.34 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.52 and a 200-day moving average of $47.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. 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 company has a market cap of $205.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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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