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

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.1% this quarter, selling 76,227 shares and maintaining a total of 302,416 shares worth about $13.7 million.
• Verizon Communications reported $1.22 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and achieving a 5.2% revenue increase year-over-year.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Verizon, with a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,416 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 76,227 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after buying an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.99 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $42.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

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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