Capital Research Global Investors Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

20 Apr 2025, 11:08 by Amy Steele · The Cerbat Gem

Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 52.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,828,378 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 6,846,514 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.47% of Verizon Communications worth $792,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,244 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.1% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 7,133 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,327 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 758,019 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,850,000 after acquiring an additional 9,846 shares during the period. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 31,420 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE VZ opened at $44.01 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.59 and a 52 week high of $47.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $185.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.41.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.01). Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 19.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.88, for a total value of $319,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,809.20. This represents a 54.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vandana Venkatesh sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $437,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,459 shares in the company, valued at $633,159.61. This trade represents a 40.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,085 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,895 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Argus raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Verizon Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Get Our Latest Analysis on VZ

About Verizon Communications

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