Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Penbrook Management LLC

Penbrook Management LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,935 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,936 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.0% of Penbrook Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Penbrook Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,460 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 53,470 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,293 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 364,272 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $15,762,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC now owns 32,515 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.5% in the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 6,337 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current 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 yield of 6.9%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.34%.

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).