Capital World Investors Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Capital World Investors reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,157,324 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 5,354,904 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $372,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th 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 shares of Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 6,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.33. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

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.