Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Sells 28,120 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 67.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,821 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 28,120 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the period. United Bank grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Williams Trading set a $54.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares in the company, valued at $1,976,739.60. This trade represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

VZ stock opened at $45.06 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.66. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.39 and a fifty-two week high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $188.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.29.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 69.88%.

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.