Belpointe Asset Management LLC Has $4.11 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Belpointe Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 22.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 90,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 25,834 shares during the quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 288,293 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,077,000 after buying an additional 49,664 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 795,931 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $36,103,000 after acquiring an additional 36,062 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,103,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $741,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 117,635 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $5,336,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.55 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.20 and its 200 day moving average is $43.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $183.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Company Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of 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).