Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires 48,185 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Aware Super increased its Verizon stake by 504.6%, buying 48,185 shares in the third quarter to reach 57,734 shares, valued at about $2.65 million.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, beating the $1.27 consensus, while revenue of $34.31 billion fell short of expectations. Revenue rose 1.5% year over year.
• Verizon’s quarterly dividend equates to $2.83 annually, a stated yield of 6.3%; analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with a $51.05 average price target.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 504.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,734 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 48,185 shares during the quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 41,173,226 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,743,274,000 after acquiring an additional 5,075,794 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 38,164,982 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,915,882,000 after acquiring an additional 6,580,820 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,734,998 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,643,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 20,882,074 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $884,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305,471 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $45.15 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $46.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.79. The firm has a market cap of $187.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.28. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.68 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 19.75%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 72.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Arete Research decreased their price target on Verizon Communications from $71.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Barclays cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon and Ericsson plan a nationwide rollout of AI-powered radio-network automation. Early field deployments reportedly improved downlink throughput by up to 8.9% and uplink throughput by up to 8%, offering a potential boost to network capacity and efficiency. Verizon and Ericsson partner to transform AI-native Autonomous Networks
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings strength and Verizon’s customer additions may help reassure investors that the carrier can contend with new rivals; a report notes that Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone customers and points to strong results and raised guidance as evidence of resilience. SpaceX Sent Verizon and T-Mobile Stocks Tumbling—Did Wall Street Overreact?
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX is reportedly discussing buying Boost Mobile or partnering with it to accelerate entry into wireless, potentially creating a new competitor. The talks remain preliminary, and Boost’s reliance on AT&T and T-Mobile network agreements could complicate a deal, but the prospect has weighed on telecom sentiment. SpaceX reportedly wants to buy Boost Mobile

Insider Activity

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.

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