Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by Calamos Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors reduced its Verizon stake by 3.8% in the second quarter, selling 28,817 shares and retaining 725,217 shares valued at approximately $30.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of Verizon.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with nine Buy ratings and twelve Hold ratings. Verizon’s average price target is $50.84, while TD Cowen raised its target to $56 and Wells Fargo raised its target to $47.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.30, beating estimates of $1.27, although revenue of $34.25 billion fell short of expectations and declined 0.7% year over year. The company also pays an annualized dividend of $2.83 per share, yielding about 5.8%.

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 725,217 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 28,817 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $30,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 8,777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 23.4% during the second quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 105,388 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,462,000 after acquiring an additional 20,010 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.3% during the second quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 72,255 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,294,850 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $54,824,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortuga Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $1,513,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.84.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $48.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $202.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.39 and a 1-year high of $51.68.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Verizon Communications's revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.990-5.040 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.03 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.70%.

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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