Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 33,101 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 154,435 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 33,101 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

VZ stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $43.65 and a 200-day moving average of $43.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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).