Payden & Rygel Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Payden & Rygel decreased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,290 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,600 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,453,058,000 after acquiring an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Verizon Communications by 51.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,512,228 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $637,812,000 after acquiring an additional 4,905,101 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the third quarter valued at about $161,346,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 50.4% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,848,766 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE VZ opened at $46.88 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.39 and a 52 week high of $51.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $195.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.57.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hans Erik Vestberg sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.61, for a total transaction of $9,922,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 145,069 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,873.09. This trade represents a 57.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary-Lee Stillwell sold 8,569 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $428,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 43,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,100. This trade represents a 16.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

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.