Federated Hermes Inc. Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.8%, owning approximately 13.96 million shares worth about $633 million, which constitutes 1.4% of its investment portfolio.
• CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares at an average price of $44.10, resulting in a 47.35% decrease in his ownership, with his remaining shares valued at $441,352.80.
• Verizon recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.22, which surpassed the consensus estimate of $1.19, alongside revenue of $34.50 billion, indicating a 5.2% year-over-year increase.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,961,603 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 1,180,598 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.4% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.33% of Verizon Communications worth $633,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, NCM Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NCM Capital Management LLC now owns 18,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. This trade represents a 47.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.71. The company had a trading volume of 13,103,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,411,422. The company has a market capitalization of $180.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.37. 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 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.79 and a 200-day moving average of $42.59.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 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).