Beacon Financial Group Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Beacon Financial Group cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,431 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 9,391 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.91 on Tuesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $185.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 company 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 earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VZ. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.65.

About Verizon Communications

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).