Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. Sells 1,089 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. cut its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,530 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 1,089 shares during the quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.84 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.36. The firm has a market cap of $184.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

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).