J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Trims Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 15.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,192 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 14,712 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 40.5% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 17,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 5,066 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 24.3% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Clare Market Investments LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 10.1% during the first quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC now owns 9,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 23.0% during the first quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,079,000 after purchasing an additional 16,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $183.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.63 and a 200-day moving average of $43.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. 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. 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

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).