Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,894 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 3,052 shares during the quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.4%

VZ stock opened at $39.86 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.48 and its 200 day moving average is $43.24. The stock has a market cap of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

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).