Groupama Asset Managment Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Groupama Asset Managment lowered its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 29.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,586 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,631 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. WNY Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,206,000. Coastline Complete Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the first quarter. Coastline Complete Wealth LLC now owns 5,550 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Independent Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $232,000. Compass Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $304,000. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 9,751.4% during the first quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 246,286 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $12,364,000 after buying an additional 243,786 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.50 to $52.50 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price target on Verizon Communications from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Dbs Bank lowered Verizon Communications from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $46.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $195.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $45.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.44. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $38.39 and a 1 year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.7075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 73.70%.

About Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company’s consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.