Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Has $12.03 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 273,635 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,373 shares during the quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 18,035 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 2,535 shares during the period. ROI Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $436,000. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 24,752 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after buying an additional 7,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. William Blair upgraded Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $51.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.19 and a 200-day moving average of $42.57.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 12.43%.The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,739.60. The trade was a 17.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,100. The trade was a 16.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.