Realta Investment Advisors Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Realta Investment Advisors trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 18.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,198 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,676 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 112,592 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,107,000 after purchasing an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 52,564 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 18,779 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

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).