Procyon Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Procyon Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,971 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 10,593 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,637,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.76 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’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. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s 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).