Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 191.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 235,368 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 154,617 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $46.43 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $193.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.83.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.02%.

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.