Magnus Financial Group LLC Sells 1,490 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Magnus Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,276 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,490 shares during the quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Castleview Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 6,608 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 14.3% during the second quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 31,635 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,966 shares during the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the second quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,851 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 94,522 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,090,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Santori & Peters Inc. raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Santori & Peters Inc. now owns 5,707 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE VZ opened at $43.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $182.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.51 and a 200-day moving average of $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

About Verizon Communications

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).