Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 0.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 295,076 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,831 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares in the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,760 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.5% in the 1st 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 position in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.4% in the 1st 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. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE VZ opened at $43.84 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.36. The stock has a market cap of $184.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change 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 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

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).