Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Sold by International Assets Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• International Assets Investment Management cut its Verizon stake by 87.8% in the third quarter, selling 84,121 shares and retaining 11,639 shares valued at about $534,000. Institutional investors collectively own 62.06% of the company.
• Verizon reported quarterly EPS of $1.31, above the $1.27 consensus, while revenue of $34.31 billion fell short of estimates. Revenue increased 1.5% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $51.05. Verizon’s quarterly dividend equates to $2.83 annually per share, a 6.1% yield at the cited share price.

International Assets Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 87.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,639 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 84,121 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 3,568 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Manchester Financial Inc. now owns 34,924 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,479,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 888 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 841 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Verizon Communications

Here are the key news stories impacting Verizon Communications this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Verizon is expanding its NFL connectivity work, including private 5G for officials and stadium operations and coverage at overseas games. The partnership may support its enterprise-network profile and customer engagement, though the financial impact is not specified. Powering the Play: Verizon Elevates the NFL Gameday Experience Worldwide
• Positive Sentiment: Verizon plans to use Ericsson’s open AI platform to deploy network-automation applications across its U.S. network. Automation could improve operating efficiency, although no savings or timing were disclosed. Verizon adopts open Ericsson AI platform for network automation
• Neutral Sentiment: The company increased tender caps and reported results for offers to buy five series of notes, accepting about $664 million. The repurchase may help manage debt, but uses cash and is not an operating-growth catalyst. Verizon announces cap increases and expiration and results of its tender offers
• Neutral Sentiment: Holiday deals and customer rewards could help Verizon attract or retain subscribers, but promotional discounts may also weigh on margins. Verizon Makes the Holidays Simple with Our Best Deals and Rewards Just for Being a Customer
• Negative Sentiment: SpaceX’s reported deal with Qualcomm to develop a mobile network raises the prospect of stronger competition for Verizon and AT&T over time, potentially pressuring subscriber growth and pricing. SpaceX Strikes Major Qualcomm Deal to Take on Verizon and AT&T

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $51.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In other news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $47,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,251,238. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $516,373. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

VZ stock opened at $46.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.68 and a 1-year high of $51.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.86.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.77 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.75% and a net margin of 11.78%. Verizon Communications's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.7075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 72.19%.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc is a telecommunications company that provides wireless communications, broadband, and digital connectivity services. Through its consumer business, Verizon offers mobile voice and data plans, smartphones and other connected devices, home internet, fixed wireless access, and fiber-optic broadband services under the Fios brand.

Verizon also serves businesses, government agencies, and other organizations with wireless connectivity, private networks, internet and data services, managed communications, cloud and security solutions, and Internet of Things services.

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