MML Investors Services LLC Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,609,017 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 68,791 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $65,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at $29,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the fourth quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $47.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $196.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.55.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. 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.