Eastern Bank Sells 6,120 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Eastern Bank cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 253,079 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 6,120 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 25.8% during the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,760 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.5% during the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 13,082 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 68.4% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,802 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE VZ opened at $39.86 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $43.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.26. The company has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

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).