Strs Ohio Reduces Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its Verizon stake by 4.8% in the first quarter, selling 107,784 shares and ending with 2.15 million shares worth about $108 million.
• Verizon’s recent quarterly earnings beat EPS expectations, with $1.28 per share versus $1.21 expected, while revenue grew 2.7% year over year to $34.44 billion.
• The company remains a high-yield dividend name, declaring a quarterly payout of $0.7075 per share, which annualizes to a 6.6% yield, even as it faces upcoming transformation-related charges in Q2.

Strs Ohio trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,151,303 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 107,784 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.05% of Verizon Communications worth $107,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $9,080,810,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 5,851,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $2,357,158,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon announced a new $4 billion joint venture with BT to expand global connectivity services for enterprise customers, giving it exposure to cloud, AI, and compliance-related demand across more than 180 countries. Verizon Forms $4 Billion BT Venture For Global Enterprise Customers
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Verizon’s upcoming second-quarter earnings report to show a single-digit increase in profit, which supports the case that the company’s core business remains stable and profitable. What to Expect From Verizon Communications' Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon continues to appeal to income investors because of its long dividend-growth record, with 19 straight years of dividend increases reinforcing its defensive, high-yield profile. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon was recently dropped from the Dow Jones Industrial Average and replaced by Alphabet, a headline that may affect sentiment but does not directly change the company’s underlying operations. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage on Starlink and SpaceX is keeping investors focused on longer-term wireless competition, but those threats still face major capacity and infrastructure hurdles before they materially challenge Verizon’s core network business. Starlink Dominates Internet From Space. Can It Disrupt AT&T and Verizon on the Ground?
• Negative Sentiment: Verizon warned that ongoing transformation efforts will create Q2 charges, including $350 million to $450 million in severance costs and $200 million to $300 million in asset-rationalization charges, which could pressure reported results. Verizon Sees Severance Charge from Headcount Reductions
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent commentary says Verizon looks inexpensive but still faces weak execution and competitive pressure, suggesting investors are not fully convinced the recent weakness is a buying opportunity yet. Verizon Stock Looks Cheap On Earnings But Weak On Execution

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.57 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.63 and a 200-day moving average of $45.93. 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 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.26.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.02%.

Verizon Communications 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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