Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 366,581 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Public Sector Pension Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 45.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 444,345 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 366,581 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 549.5% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 591 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 625 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.4% in the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 782 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 9,579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.88, for a total value of $429,905.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,045 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VZ. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.02.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $49.00 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $50.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.94. The firm has a market cap of $206.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $36.38 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.900-4.950 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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 $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Verizon Communications’s 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.