Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.3%, owning 143,648 shares worth $6,516,000 after selling 18,233 shares in the first quarter.
• Verizon Communications recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, reflecting a boost from its previous dividend of $0.68, with a yield of 6.3%.
• Analyst ratings for Verizon Communications are mixed, with three analysts rating the stock as Strong Buy and a consensus target price of $47.65.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,648 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 18,233 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley increased 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.55 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.37. The company has a market capitalization of $183.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue 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 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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