23,742 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Acquired by Blueprint Investment Partners LLC

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 23,742 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,043,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 739.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the second quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the firm’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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of VZ opened at $50.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $50.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.53 and a 200-day moving average of $42.40.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 68.15%.

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.