Exeter Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Exeter Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 91,396 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 633 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 1.8% of Exeter Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.3% in the second quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 31,635 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 3,966 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,851 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,941,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% in the second quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 94,522 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,090,000 after buying an additional 4,435 shares during the period. Santori & Peters Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.1% in the second quarter. Santori & Peters Inc. now owns 5,707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.3% in the second quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,059 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $652,000 after buying an additional 1,646 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.21 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 $182.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly 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 company 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 firm posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. 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 63.17%.

Verizon Communications 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).