Cypress Capital Group Has $1.84 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Cypress Capital Group lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,424 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,665 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 105,344 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 10.6% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 10,636 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 989.5% during the second quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 80,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,474,000 after purchasing an additional 72,915 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,307,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $56,579,000 after purchasing an additional 42,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.7% during the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 314,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,592,000 after purchasing an additional 16,992 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.86 on Monday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $43.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

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).