Lakeside Advisors INC. Sells 499 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Lakeside Advisors INC. decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 8.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,186 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after selling 499 shares during the quarter. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.0%

VZ stock opened at $41.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.60 and a 200 day moving average of $43.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter 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 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 issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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).