Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 6,879 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 7.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,173 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 6,879 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.68 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.65 and its 200 day moving average is $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 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 results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Company 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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