Ascent Group LLC Sells 10,926 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.1%, selling 10,926 shares to hold a total of 143,176 shares worth approximately <$6.5 million> after the sale.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Verizon, with GQG Partners LLC boosting their holdings by 303.9% during the first quarter of this year.
• Verizon recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.68 to $0.69 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 6.2%.

Ascent Group LLC reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,176 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 10,926 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $530,576,000 after buying an additional 10,300,369 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,434,572,000 after buying an additional 5,392,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,555,351,000 after buying an additional 4,568,518 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $43.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $186.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period 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 predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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).

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