US Bancorp DE Sells 71,785 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

by · The Markets Daily

US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 3.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,857,688 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 71,785 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $80,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $8,007,000 after buying an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 25.8% during the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after buying an additional 12,760 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 95.5% during the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 13,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 68.4% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 2,802 shares during the last quarter. 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 a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. 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 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $40.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’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. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.34%.

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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).

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