Verus Financial Partners Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 69.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,327 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,406 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 40.5% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 17,571 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 5,066 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 24.3% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,813 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.1% in the first quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC now owns 9,958 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 23.0% in the first quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 89,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,079,000 after acquiring an additional 16,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.43 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.36. 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 has a market cap of $183.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The company’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. Research 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid 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 is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

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).