Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Sells 33,006 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the first quarter, selling 33,006 shares and now holds 559,658 shares valued at approximately $25,386,000.
• Verizon reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate and had a revenue of $34.50 billion, which was above analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 6.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 63.17%.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 559,658 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 33,006 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $25,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.25 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $42.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.18. The stock has a market cap of $186.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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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