State of Michigan Retirement System Grows Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,294,850 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $54,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in 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 valued at $35,790,000 after acquiring an additional 31,354 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,197,366 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $89,499,000 after purchasing an additional 639,380 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 697.0% in the 4th quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 471,127 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $19,189,000 after purchasing an additional 412,018 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 316,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $2,171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $48.63 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $38.39 and a 52-week high of $51.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.41 and a 200-day moving average of $47.17. The company has a market capitalization of $202.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 11.64%.The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 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.