Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 84,074 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 10th, 2023

Verizon Communications logo Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 35.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 323,606 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,074 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,314,000. Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 86,329 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $3,357,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 488,515 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $18,992,000 after purchasing an additional 11,495 shares during the period. Solitude Financial Services lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.8% in the first quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 22,955 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, tru Independence LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 2.9% during the first quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 129,367 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $5,031,000 after buying an additional 3,662 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.

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 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.32 and a 200 day moving average of $38.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

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

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).