Synovus Financial Corp Decreases Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.5% during the first quarter, now owning 321,963 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million.
• Verizon reported earnings of $1.22 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenue up 5.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775, providing an annualized yield of 6.1% and a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Synovus Financial Corp lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 321,963 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 54,458 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $14,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,126,000 after acquiring an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.3840 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $187.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.13. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

About Verizon Communications

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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