Jacobs & Co. CA Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Jacobs & Co. CA lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,598 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in Verizon Communications by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 15,804 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at about $379,000. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 193,103 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,356,000 after buying an additional 17,082 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 177,150 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $7,665,000 after buying an additional 5,294 shares during the period. Finally, AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $11,969,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 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 business earned $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date 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).