Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 31,887 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 38.8% in the first quarter, selling 31,887 shares and retaining 50,212 shares valued at approximately $2.28 million.
• Bank of America raised its price target for Verizon shares from $45.00 to $49.00, while multiple analysts have assigned ratings ranging from "hold" to "strong buy," indicating a generally positive outlook.
• Verizon reported earnings of $1.22 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a 5.2% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 38.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,212 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 31,887 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $42.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $42.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 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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