Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Shares Sold by Forum Financial Management LP

Posted by Defense World Staff on Apr 3rd, 2023

Verizon Communications logo Forum Financial Management LP lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,852 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,441 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 211.6% in the second quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 11,515,955 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $584,800,000 after purchasing an additional 7,820,187 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the third quarter valued at $181,862,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.3% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 10,604,493 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $540,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,756,222 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 37.4% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,217,516 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $721,539,000 after acquiring an additional 3,870,751 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 349,590,768 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,273,960,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857,646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $41.00 to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Tigress Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $68.00 to $64.00 in a report on Friday, December 16th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Verizon Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verizon Communications news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total transaction of $262,763.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 81,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,983,437. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Craig L. Silliman sold 3,342 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $126,996.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 76,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,901,490. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kyle Malady sold 7,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $262,763.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 81,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,983,437. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,767 shares of company stock worth $618,191. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $38.89 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.69. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.55 and a 52 week high of $55.51. The stock has a market cap of $163.34 billion, a PE ratio of 7.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.14 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 24.60% and a net margin of 15.53%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.6525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.71%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 51.58%.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

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Verizon Communications, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of communications, information, and entertainment products and services. It operates through the Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business) segments. The Consumer segment provides consumer-focused wireless and wire line communications services and products.