Avantra Family Wealth Inc. Sells 323 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Avantra Family Wealth Inc. lessened its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,088 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. Avantra Family Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $41.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.63 and its 200 day moving average is $43.33.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications’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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 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 reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.63.

About Verizon Communications

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).