Insight Inv LLC Sells 18,650 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Insight Inv LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,283 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 18,650 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,385,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $174.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.58 and its 200-day moving average is $43.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).