Arnhold LLC Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Arnhold LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 11.2% during the first quarter, now owning 417,751 shares valued at approximately $18.95 million.
• Verizon recently reported earnings of $1.22 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.19, with a revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 5.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, yielding around 6.0% annually, indicating a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Arnhold LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,751 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 52,520 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.9% of Arnhold LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Arnhold LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $18,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after buying an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $45.0350 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $189.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.77 and a 200-day moving average of $43.07.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

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).

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