ORG Partners LLC Purchases 26,504 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 293.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,550 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 26,504 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 373,904,749 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,433,114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,733 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,989,427,000 after purchasing an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,188,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,238,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203,445 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,592,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $992,939,000 after purchasing an additional 646,537 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total value of $9,922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 145,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 218,148 shares of company stock worth $10,780,356. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Monday, January 26th. 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. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.32.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $50.34 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.27. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The firm has a market cap of $212.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.30. 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 results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $36.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.