Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ is GQG Partners LLC’s 9th Largest Position

GQG Partners LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,877,241 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,837,354 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 2.8% of GQG Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. GQG Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,519,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.3% in the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,338 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 2,765 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 35,023 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total transaction of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,444,825.96. This represents a 1.00% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $50.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.39 and a 12-month high of $51.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.6%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 73.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

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.