Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Has $54.55 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec has increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.8%, acquiring an additional 231,405 shares, bringing their total to over 1.2 million shares, valued at approximately $54.55 million.
• Verizon's stock received multiple rating upgrades, with average target prices ranging from $43.00 to $49.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Verizon recently reported a quarterly earnings of $1.22 EPS, exceeding estimates, and has set its FY 2025 earnings guidance between $4.636 and $4.728 EPS.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,202,549 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 231,405 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $54,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. increased 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 worth $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares in the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after purchasing an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.2%

VZ stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.71. The stock had a trading volume of 21,825,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,573,251. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.31. 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 firm has a market cap of $184.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.44.

Verizon Communications Company 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).