Frazier Financial Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Frazier Financial Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 29.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 645 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 268 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,641 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,641,090 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $74,440,000 after purchasing an additional 313,457 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $5,484,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.9% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,205 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.21. The firm has a market cap of $167.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. 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 (NYSE:VZ) last posted its 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue 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. Research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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).