Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.9% during the second quarter, owning a total of 439,646 shares valued at approximately $19 million.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, reflecting a 6.4% dividend yield for shareholders.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $47.53 for Verizon Communications, with ratings from three analysts indicating a strong buy.

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 439,646 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 17,965 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Waycross Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $281,000. Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 73,902 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 662,227 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $28,655,000 after purchasing an additional 6,044 shares during the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 123.3% during the 2nd quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,966 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 7,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.4% in the second quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 120,970 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,234,000 after buying an additional 6,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

VZ stock opened at $43.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.47 and a 200-day moving average of $43.38. 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 one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

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).

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