Erste Asset Management GmbH Trims Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 12.5%, selling 28,831 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with a total of 201,879 shares valued at approximately $9.09 million.
• Major investors like EntryPoint Capital LLC and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. have increased their stakes in Verizon, indicating a mixed sentiment among institutional investors.
• Verizon reported better-than-expected earnings with $1.22 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing forecasts, and announced a quarterly dividend yield of 6.0%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,879 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 28,831 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $9,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 114.8% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 15,677 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 8,378 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 138,476 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,281,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 3.6% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 697,877 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,657,000 after buying an additional 24,088 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 46,146 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 2,339,047 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $106,099,000 after purchasing an additional 347,686 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $45.0070 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $189.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.04.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $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. On average, equities analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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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