Sunbelt Securities Inc. Sells 40,146 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Sunbelt Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,830 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 40,146 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading set a $54.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $50.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.90. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.67. 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 capitalization of $213.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. 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 dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.