Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Titleist Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Titleist Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 41.5%, now holding 32,214 shares valued at approximately $1.46 million.
• In addition, several hedge funds have recently increased their stakes in Verizon, with GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. growing its stake by 105.2% during the same period.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, representing a 6.1% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Titleist Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 41.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,214 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 22,832 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $44.24. 14,788,113 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,254,744. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

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

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).