ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 19,309 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 809,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 19,309 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $35,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hudock Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 39,842 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the third quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 8,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 71,541 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,144,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Camden National Bank raised 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 valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the second quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,517 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $47.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $198.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $47.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $41.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.76. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total transaction of $429,905.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.