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

US Bancorp DE trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 292.5% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc now owns 20,836 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 15,527 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 257,976 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $11,163,000 after acquiring an additional 19,075 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,911 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,353,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $58,544,000 after acquiring an additional 338,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 205,282 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,883,000 after acquiring an additional 8,210 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $40.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $172.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. 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 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.63.

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).