GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Cuts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lessened its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 21.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 635,977 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 178,254 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up 1.6% of GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $28,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7%

VZ opened at $44.24 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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).