Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Holdings Trimmed by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,435 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 33,101 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

VZ opened at $43.68 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.65 and a 200-day moving average of $43.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Company 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).