Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) Stake Lessened by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 13th, 2023

Verizon Communications logo Sunbelt Securities Inc. lowered its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ – Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,283 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,866 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BCK Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $2,101,000. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 5,980 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 174.0% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 91,776 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,675,000 after acquiring an additional 58,283 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,194,111 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $60,828,000 after acquiring an additional 113,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $567,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3 %

Verizon Communications stock opened at $34.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.11 billion, a PE ratio of 6.81, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.25 and a 52 week high of $42.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.04. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 22.28% and a net margin of 15.58%. The business had revenue of $32.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 6th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.81%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC cut their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.50 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Verizon Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on Verizon Communications from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.40.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on VZ

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samantha Hammock sold 12,557 shares of Verizon Communications stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.29, for a total transaction of $418,022.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).