Marshall Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 56,669 Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 56,669 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,491,000. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.3% of Marshall Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,144,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Camden National Bank increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 5,666 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the third quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,318 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 30,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE VZ opened at $51.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.67.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 68.15%.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In other news, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% 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, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,976,739.60. This represents a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock valued at $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank raised Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, William Blair raised shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.03.

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.