Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its shareholding in Verizon Communications by 6.4% to own 638,500 shares valued at approximately $28.96 million as of the latest filing.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Verizon Communications, with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America setting new targets of $48.00 and $49.00, respectively, indicating positive market sentiment.
• Verizon recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, representing an annual yield of 6.3%, slated for payment on November 3rd.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 638,500 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 38,500 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.55 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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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