SouthState Corp Has $2.05 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

SouthState Corp lowered its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,595 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 29,153 shares during the period. SouthState Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications by 137.6% during the third quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $41.93. The company had a trading volume of 9,794,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,551,691. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.43. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.20 and a fifty-two week high of $45.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.01. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 20.05% and a net margin of 7.30%. The company had revenue of $33.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.678 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.47%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 116.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Raymond James raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.50 to $47.25 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Verizon Communications from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.37.

Verizon Communications Company 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).