Formidable Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Formidable Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 51,444 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Diversified Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the second quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 15,912 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the second quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,981 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. now owns 214,631 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $9,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 65,195 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $238,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $183.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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).