Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 7,024 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. has reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 7.6%, selling 7,024 shares to own a total of 85,127 shares valued at approximately $3.68 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Verizon, with Wall Street Zen downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold," while Scotiabank and others have increased their price targets for the shares.
• Verizon has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.68 to $0.69, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.9%, with the payment set for November 3rd.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,127 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,024 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ opened at $39.86 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week 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. The company has a market cap of $168.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $43.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.24.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

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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