Citizens National Bank Trust Department Sells 1,075 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Citizens National Bank Trust Department cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,289 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,075 shares during the quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st 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. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.0%

VZ stock opened at $41.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.32. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market cap 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 earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. 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. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).