Ascent Group LLC Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152,926 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,750 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 12.5% in the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $203,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 33.9% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 12,722 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.5% in the first quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 35,124 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.65 and a 200-day moving average price 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 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).