Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 1,330,980 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.6%, selling 1,330,980 shares and now holds 4,316,135 shares valued at approximately $195.8 million.
• Verizon's recent earnings report showed a 5.2% year-over-year revenue increase to $34.5 billion, with earnings per share of $1.22, beating expectations.
• Analysts have upgraded Verizon's stock ratings, with price target increases from various brokerages, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,316,135 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,330,980 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.10% of Verizon Communications worth $195,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares in the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after purchasing an additional 63,474 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7%

VZ traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.24. The company had a trading volume of 14,788,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,557,173. The stock has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.26. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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).