Jump Financial LLC Sells 29,535 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC significantly reduced its stake in Verizon Communications, selling 29,535 shares and holding only 5,738 shares after the sale.
• Verizon reported a quarterly EPS of $1.22, exceeding expectations, and a revenue of $34.50 billion, marking a 5.2% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts upgraded their ratings on Verizon, with a mix of "Strong Buy" and "Neutral" ratings, and the average price target is set at $47.44.

Jump Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 83.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,738 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 29,535 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RBO & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $687,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 21.3% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 63,282 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,870,000 after buying an additional 11,091 shares during the period. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.5% during the first quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 188,416 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,547,000 after buying an additional 9,885 shares during the period. Rahlfs Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 115.0% during the first quarter. Rahlfs Capital LLC now owns 31,789 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,442,000 after buying an additional 17,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 9.4% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 548,421 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $24,876,000 after buying an additional 46,965 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $184.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 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 fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $43.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.31.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.44.

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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