Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Total Clarity Wealth Management cut its Verizon stake by 65.5% in the first quarter, selling 44,223 shares and leaving it with 23,318 shares worth about $1.17 million.
• Other major institutions such as Vanguard, State Street, Charles Schwab, Geode Capital, and Norges Bank either increased or initiated positions, with institutional investors now owning 62.06% of Verizon.
• Verizon reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.28 per share, while revenue rose 2.7% year over year; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.7075 per share, implying a 6.2% yield.

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 65.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,318 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 44,223 shares during the period. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 379,402,347 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,453,058,000 after buying an additional 5,497,598 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 222,951,399 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,080,810,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461,335 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 116,570,816 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,747,930,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851,715 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 102,632,509 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,168,080,000 after acquiring an additional 867,694 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $2,357,158,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.59.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.0%

VZ opened at $45.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $189.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.24. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $38.39 and a one year high of $51.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $34.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.82 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 12.46%.The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.950-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.02%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc NYSE: VZ is a major U.S.-based telecommunications company that provides a broad range of communications and information services. Its operations span consumer and business markets, with core offerings that include wireless voice and data services, fixed-line broadband and fiber-optic services, and enterprise networking solutions. Verizon is headquartered in New York City and operates a nationwide wireless network that supports consumer subscribers as well as business and government customers.

The company's consumer products include mobile phone plans, unlimited data services, and Fios, its branded fiber-optic internet, television and voice service for homes and small businesses.

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