LPL Financial LLC Sells 98,834 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

LPL Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,943,079 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 98,834 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $404,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 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. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.51 on Tuesday. 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 $190.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

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.