HBW Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• HBW Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.5%, owning 77,839 shares worth about $3.37 million after the sale.
• Verizon recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.22, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 5.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69, with an annual yield of 6.3%, reflecting confidence in financial stability.

HBW Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 13.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 77,839 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 12,173 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.36. 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 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. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's payout ratio 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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