OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Buys 33,882 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 239,900 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 33,882 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 490.0% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 649 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Lam Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VZ shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Insider Activity at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,825.96. This trade represents a 1.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $50.11 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $208.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.25.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The firm’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.70%.

About Verizon Communications

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.