Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 778,573 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 14.9%, selling 778,573 shares in the most recent quarter, leaving it with 4,438,809 shares valued at approximately $201 million.
• Verizon posted earnings of $1.22 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and reported revenues of $34.50 billion, a 5.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, yielding approximately 6.1%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,438,809 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 778,573 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.11% of Verizon Communications worth $201,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.3840 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.15. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).

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