WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 26,740 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 26.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,933 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 26,740 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Platform Technology Partners raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 31,513 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $40.39 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $170.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’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. Research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders 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 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

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).