Capital Wealth Planning LLC Has $163.24 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Capital Wealth Planning LLC reduced its Verizon stake by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 2.15 million shares and leaving it with 4.02 million shares valued at about $163.24 million.
• Despite the sale, Verizon remains widely held by institutional investors, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode all increasing positions; overall, 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Verizon, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $50.59, while the company also supports income investors with a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 and a 6.0% yield.

Capital Wealth Planning LLC cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,016,752 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 2,145,251 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.1% of Capital Wealth Planning LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Capital Wealth Planning LLC owned 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $163,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 valued at $9,470,788,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276,809 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,357,158,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $46.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $196.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The business's 50 day moving average is $47.29 and its 200-day moving average is $45.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Key Headlines Impacting Verizon Communications

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s shares have been rising alongside a broader market pullback, suggesting investors are favoring the stock’s defensive characteristics and income appeal. Verizon Communications (VZ) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage is emphasizing Verizon’s fiber expansion and its potential to benefit from rising AI, cloud, and data-center connectivity demand, which supports the long-term growth case for VZ. Can Verizon's Fiber Expansion Strategy Benefit From Rising AI Demand?
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to be framed as a compelling dividend stock for income-focused investors, which can attract buyers seeking stable cash flow and relatively low volatility. 3 Dividend Stocks Built for Retirement to Buy in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Several comparison articles pitted Verizon against AT&T, T-Mobile, and AST SpaceMobile, keeping the stock in focus but not adding a clear new catalyst by themselves. VZ vs. ASTS: Which Connectivity Stock is the Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon has also seen increased investor attention online, which can reflect growing interest but does not necessarily signal a fundamental change. Investors Heavily Search Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ): Here is What You Need to Know

Verizon Communications 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.