Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. cut its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,303 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,700,279,000 after buying an additional 4,347,416 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after purchasing an additional 431,789 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,342 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $41.35 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced 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 business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.63.

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).