Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stake Boosted by Heritage Trust Co

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co increased its Verizon stake by 33.3% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 155,405 shares valued at approximately $6.58 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on Verizon, with an average price target of $50.84; recent firms raised their targets to between $46 and $52.50.
• Verizon beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.30 versus $1.27 forecast, but revenue declined 0.7% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.7075, representing a 5.6% annualized yield.

Heritage Trust Co boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 33.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 38,852 shares during the quarter. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 32.7% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank upped 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. 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 $45.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.33. The company has a market capitalization of $208.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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