Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Has $696,000 Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,088 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 323 shares during the quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $41.49 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.63 and its 200 day moving average is $43.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $174.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.63.

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).