NEW YORK - Institutional investors hold a commanding 63% share in Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ)., which plays a significant role in the company's stock market performance. Among these shareholders, prominent names such as The Vanguard Group, Inc., BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Inc., and State Street (NYSE:STT) Global Advisors, Inc. stand out as the largest. Analysts from these institutions often view Verizon favorably, based on their market forecasts.
Despite the substantial influence of institutional investors, Verizon's insider ownership is less than 1%. This low level of internal stakeholding raises questions about the efficiency of board accountability processes at the telecom giant. On the other hand, a diverse group of institutions and individual investors together own 37% of Verizon. However, their ability to sway company policies may be limited when their interests clash with those of the more dominant institutional shareholders.
The ownership structure also reveals that the top 25 shareholders possess less than half of the company's shares, suggesting a broad base of smaller stakeholders. This dispersion underscores investment risk as a key consideration for investors, alongside the implications of institutional ownership and analyst projections on potential share price movements.
InvestingPro Insights
Verizon Communications Inc., according to real-time data from InvestingPro, has a market capitalization of $151.26 billion and a P/E ratio of 7.25, indicating a fair valuation relative to its earnings. The company has also been profitable over the last twelve months, as evidenced by a P/E ratio adjusted for Q3 2023 of 7.79. This profitability, coupled with a 1-month price total return of 16.79%, suggests a strong return for investors.
InvestingPro Tips highlight that Verizon has a history of rewarding its investors, having raised its dividend for 19 consecutive years and maintained dividend payments for 40 years. This consistent dividend growth is reflected in a dividend yield of 7.43% as of 2023. Despite the company's strong financial performance, it's worth noting that 12 analysts have revised their earnings downwards for the upcoming period.
Investors can find more in-depth tips and data like these on InvestingPro, which provides a comprehensive analysis of various companies, including Verizon. Currently, there are 10 more tips available for Verizon on InvestingPro, offering valuable insights for potential investors.
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