Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Position Trimmed by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC has reduced its stake in Verizon Communications by 70.3% in the second quarter, now holding 239,860 shares worth approximately $10.4 million.
• Verizon reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with $1.22 earnings per share exceeding estimates, and revenues of $34.50 billion, marking a 5.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69, which reflects an increase from the previous dividend, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.3%.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 70.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 239,860 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 569,039 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first 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. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the first 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. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $44.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.40. 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 quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. 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. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.65.

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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