First Personal Financial Services Acquires 2,949 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 10th, 2023

Verizon Communications logo First Personal Financial Services boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,448 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,949 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services’ holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 700 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 1,057 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 61.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Verizon Communications Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $35.90 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.92 billion, a PE ratio of 6.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.72 and a 52-week high of $51.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.01. The company 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%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 7th. This represents a $2.61 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.27%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verizon Communications 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Verizon Communications

(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).