Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 4,000 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 222,400 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $41.44 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $174.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).