IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 949,066 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,808 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $47,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 490.0% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $42.37 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $46.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.91. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The company has a market cap of $176.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.24. 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:VZGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Scotiabank raised shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.59.

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About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

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