HB Wealth Management LLC Purchases 3,643 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,833 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,643 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first 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 last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6%

VZ stock opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.36. The company has a market cap of $185.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company 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 company posted $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

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).