Czech National Bank Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Czech National Bank increased its Verizon stake by 3.5% in the second quarter, adding 40,042 shares to reach 1.19 million shares valued at approximately $50.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with nine Buy ratings and twelve Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $50.84.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates by $0.03, while revenue declined 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, representing a 6.0% annualized yield.

Czech National Bank increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,188,524 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 40,042 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $50,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,747,930,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 15.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 62,101,021 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,117,471,000 after buying an additional 8,289,877 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $46.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $194.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $45.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.70.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

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.

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