Compass Financial Management LLC Takes Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,595 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,484,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $35,790,000 after acquiring an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,434,000 after purchasing an additional 25,156 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after purchasing an additional 316,854 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 127.0% during the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $7,798,000 after buying an additional 103,046 shares during the period. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,171,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.42.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson lowered their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

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.