Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,700,139 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 72,090 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $71,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after buying an additional 7,461,335 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position 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 valued at $3,117,471,000 after acquiring an additional 8,289,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $50.11 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $45.91 and its 200 day moving average is $47.42. The stock has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.70%.

Verizon Communications Company 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.

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