TD Asset Management Inc Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• TD Asset Management reduced its Verizon stake by 6.4% in the second quarter, selling 188,244 shares and retaining 2.77 million shares valued at approximately $117.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Verizon exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.30 in EPS versus the $1.27 consensus, though revenue declined 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion and fell short of estimates.
• Verizon recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.7075, equivalent to an annualized 5.7% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $50.84.

TD Asset Management Inc cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,770,909 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 188,244 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.07% of Verizon Communications worth $117,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in Verizon Communications by 11.5% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 7,843 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 312.0% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 23,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 17,901 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.2% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 41,121 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 6,034 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,993 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $49.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.52 and a 200 day moving average of $47.29. The firm has a market cap of $205.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68.

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

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson cut their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.84.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.68, for a total value of $53,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 109,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,348,276.88. The trade was a 0.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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