Exeter Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Exeter Financial LLC decreased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 633 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for about 1.8% of Exeter Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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).