Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Capital Management Associates Inc

Capital Management Associates Inc lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 40.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,390 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,672 shares during the quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

VZ opened at $41.35 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $174.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VZ. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

About Verizon Communications

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).