Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co

Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,826 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 754 shares during the quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $944,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 431,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

VZ stock opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.21. The stock has a market cap of $167.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).