SPC Financial Inc. Sells 991 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

SPC Financial Inc. decreased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,146 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 991 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 989.5% in the second quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 80,284 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,474,000 after purchasing an additional 72,915 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,307,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $56,579,000 after acquiring an additional 42,160 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.7% in the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 314,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $13,592,000 after acquiring an additional 16,992 shares during the last quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.7% in the second quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 19,973 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth $1,311,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $39.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 3.00 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.25. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications 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).