Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Institute for Wealth Management LLC.

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. cut its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,220 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st 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. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.84 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $184.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 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).