Praxis Investment Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.8%, now owning 81,980 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• Verizon recently reported $1.22 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has set its FY 2025 guidance at $4.636-4.728 EPS.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, reflecting a 6.8% yield, with the payout set to be issued on November 3rd.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,980 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 8,860 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $43.28 and a 200 day moving average of $43.13.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during 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 company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.8%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 64.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.63.

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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