Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. Reduces Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lessened its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,471 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

VZ opened at $43.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $183.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.57 and a 200-day moving average of $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).