Chung Wu Investment Group LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Chung Wu Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 35.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,680 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.4% in the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,794 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 105,944 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,806,000 after buying an additional 6,771 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.3% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,656 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 840 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 4.8% during the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 30,644 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

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).