Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,822 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,361 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.68 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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. As a group, research 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. 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. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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).