The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 57,773 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 1.4%, now owning 4,203,462 shares worth approximately $190.67 million.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.1%.
• Analyst ratings for Verizon show a mixed outlook, with three analysts rating it as a Strong Buy and an average target price of $47.35.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,203,462 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 57,773 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $190,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 105.2% in the first quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 63,732 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 32,680 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $129,000. State of Wyoming increased its position in Verizon Communications by 69.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,482 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 3,060 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 2,908,095 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $131,911,000 after buying an additional 58,633 shares during the period. Finally, Northstar Financial Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the first quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. now owns 40,129 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,820,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:VZ traded up $0.31 on Monday, hitting $44.24. The stock had a trading volume of 14,788,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,254,744. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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).