Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Has $30.13 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 683,214 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 57,398 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $30,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.6% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 713,156 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,790,000 after buying an additional 31,354 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.6% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Capital Inc. now owns 317,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,434,000 after buying an additional 25,156 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 2,382,975 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $97,059,000 after acquiring an additional 316,854 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 127.0% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 184,170 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,798,000 after acquiring an additional 103,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $2,171,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Freedom Capital raised Verizon Communications to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson dropped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.06, for a total value of $55,066.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,766 shares in the company, valued at $5,444,825.96. This represents a 1.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $50.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

Verizon Communications 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.