Kyle Malady Sells 1,100 Shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) Stock

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.50, for a total value of $55,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 107,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,437,133. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Kyle Malady also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 25th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total transaction of $53,548.00.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.66. 7,168,819 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,744,650. 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 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $210.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.45.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.97.

Institutional Trading of Verizon Communications

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Gill Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 620 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 448 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.