Pensionfund Sabic Has $2.47 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Pension fund Sabic reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 16.8%, holding 54,500 shares valued at around $2.47 million at the end of the latest quarter.
• Verizon recently reported earnings of $1.22 EPS, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, equating to an annual yield of 6.3%.
• Analysts have shown a positive outlook for Verizon, with several recent upgrades, and the average price target for the stock is now $47.65.

Pensionfund Sabic lowered its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,500 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 11,000 shares during the quarter. Pensionfund Sabic's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the period. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. 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 company has a market cap of $185.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

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).

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