Apollon Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Apollon Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZFree Report) by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 115,501 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 16,281 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

View Our Latest Research Report on Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.48 and a 200 day moving average of $43.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. 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 (NYSE:VZGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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 issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

(Free Report)

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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)

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