Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $1.15 Million Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 335.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,279 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,480 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of VZ opened at $44.24 on Monday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $186.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.28.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

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).