Railway Pension Investments Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Railway Pension Investments Ltd. reduced its Verizon stake by 4.7% in the second quarter, selling 33,100 shares and retaining 671,900 shares valued at approximately $28.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Analysts maintain a broadly neutral outlook, with Verizon carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $50.97. Recent target increases from several firms ranged from $46 to $52.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates, but revenue fell 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, representing a 5.6% annualized yield.

Railway Pension Investments Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 671,900 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 33,100 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its position in Verizon Communications by 173.0% in the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. The trade was a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Barclays boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.97.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $50.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.45.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend 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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