Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Buys 519 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,621 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $373,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172,175 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after purchasing an additional 431,789 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of VZ opened at $40.39 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.17. The stock has a market cap of $170.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

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).