Solitude Financial Services Buys 2,610 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 10th, 2023

Verizon Communications logo Solitude Financial Services raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,955 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 2,610 shares during the quarter. Solitude Financial Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Verizon Communications by 1.9% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 39,504 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,536,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 26,844 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761 shares during the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC now owns 9,687 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC now owns 18,438 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elk River Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,638 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,903,000 after buying an additional 6,964 shares in the last quarter. 61.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $35.90 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.72 and a 1 year high of $51.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.32 and a 200 day moving average of $38.23. The firm has a market cap of $150.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $32.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.64 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 23.31%. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. This represents a $2.61 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph J. Russo sold 7,585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.30, for a total value of $275,335.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,526.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. HSBC lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.44.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides 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).