Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Stock Position Lowered by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,410,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,111 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $63,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $44.3840 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $187.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.10.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).