Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock: Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Raises Position

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management increased its Verizon position by 9.3% in the third quarter, adding 63,873 shares to hold 747,087 shares valued at about $34.4 million.
• Verizon’s quarterly EPS of $1.31 beat estimates by $0.04, while revenue of $34.31 billion fell short of forecasts; revenue rose 1.5% year over year. Its annualized dividend is $2.83 per share, a yield of about 6.3%.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $51.05; 13 analysts rate the stock Buy and 16 rate it Hold.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 747,087 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 63,873 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $34,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MFG Investments LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 3rd quarter worth about $625,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8,917.5% during the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,280 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 10,166 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,713,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 41.4% in the third quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 74,735 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 21,896 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.2%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.15 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $187.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.79. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.68 and a twelve month high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $34.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 72.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $51.05.

Verizon Communications News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon and Ericsson plan a nationwide rollout of AI-powered radio-network automation. Early field deployments reportedly improved downlink throughput by up to 8.9% and uplink throughput by up to 8%, offering a potential boost to network capacity and efficiency. Verizon and Ericsson partner to transform AI-native Autonomous Networks
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings strength and Verizon’s customer additions may help reassure investors that the carrier can contend with new rivals; a report notes that Verizon added 406,000 postpaid phone customers and points to strong results and raised guidance as evidence of resilience. SpaceX Sent Verizon and T-Mobile Stocks Tumbling—Did Wall Street Overreact?
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX is reportedly discussing buying Boost Mobile or partnering with it to accelerate entry into wireless, potentially creating a new competitor. The talks remain preliminary, and Boost’s reliance on AT&T and T-Mobile network agreements could complicate a deal, but the prospect has weighed on telecom sentiment. SpaceX reportedly wants to buy Boost Mobile

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $516,373 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.

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