Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Has $121.57 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,984,875 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,075,348 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $121,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $15,453,058,000 after purchasing an additional 5,497,598 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 215,490,064 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,470,788,000 after buying an additional 7,276,809 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,168,080,000 after buying an additional 867,694 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $2,357,158,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,265,695 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,989,427,000 after buying an additional 557,576 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $47.71 on Tuesday. 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 $199.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.16. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.39 and a twelve month high of $51.68.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $50.25 to $54.50 in a report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.59.

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.