Walter Public Investments Inc. Purchases Shares of 110,800 Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Walter Public Investments Inc. opened a new position in Verizon during the first quarter, buying 110,800 shares valued at about $5.56 million.
• Verizon continues to attract major institutional support, with hedge funds and asset managers such as Vanguard, State Street, and Charles Schwab increasing holdings; institutions now own 62.06% of the stock.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive on Verizon, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $50.59, while the company recently beat EPS estimates and maintains a 6.6% dividend yield.

Walter Public Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 110,800 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $5,562,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,168,080,000 after purchasing an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,357,158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.59.

Key Verizon Communications News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Verizon as an attractive value stock, with Zacks citing favorable style-score characteristics that may appeal to value-focused investors. Here's Why Verizon Communications (VZ) is a Strong Value Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon’s dividend profile is still a key support for the shares, with comparisons to AT&T emphasizing Verizon’s long record of dividend increases and its appeal to income investors. Better High-Yield Dividend Stock: Verizon or AT&T?
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon and BT Group announced a $4 billion international enterprise joint venture, which could expand Verizon’s global business services reach and improve growth prospects. Is Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) Stock Positioned for Growth After $4B International Enterprise Partnership?
• Neutral Sentiment: Verizon is getting more trading attention from retail investors, which may reflect renewed interest but does not by itself change the company’s fundamentals. Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street expects Verizon’s upcoming quarterly earnings to show modest profit growth, making the next report an important catalyst but not a clear surprise yet. What to Expect From Verizon Communications' Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage about Starlink’s push into mobile service raises longer-term competitive pressure on Verizon and other wireless carriers, even though major infrastructure hurdles remain. Starlink Dominates Internet From Space. Can It Disrupt AT&T and Verizon on the Ground?

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $42.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.39 and a 12 month high of $51.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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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