Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. Has $581,000 Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. trimmed its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 4.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,422 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 72,915 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,307,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $56,579,000 after purchasing an additional 42,160 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 314,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $13,592,000 after purchasing an additional 16,992 shares during the last quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc. now owns 19,973 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,311,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $39.86 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.48 and a 200-day moving average of $43.25.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. 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 payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.63.

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).