Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Sells 21,971 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 60% in the first quarter, selling 21,971 shares to hold 14,627 shares valued at $663,000.
• Notable hedge funds like Vanguard Group Inc. and GQG Partners LLC increased their positions in Verizon, with Vanguard now holding 368 million shares worth about $16.7 billion.
• Verizon recently reported earnings per share of $1.22, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69, with a yield of 6.3%.

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 60.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,627 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 21,971 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $16,700,279,000 after buying an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,062,750,000 after buying an additional 431,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,351,000 after buying an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.55 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.37. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

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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