Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Carmel Capital Partners LLC

Carmel Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $2,799,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.8% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 205,416 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 39,445 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 95.5% in the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 13,082 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 68.4% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.99 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.10.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of 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 given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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).