Argyle Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Argyle Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,764 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up approximately 1.3% of Argyle Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 30,213 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 7,265 shares during the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 15.6% in the first quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 69,938 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,172,000 after acquiring an additional 9,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.9% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $40.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $172.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.29. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

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).