111 Capital bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 18,828 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $815,000.
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $385,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,385,197 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.
Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%
VZ stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. 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 $43.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.35. The company has a market cap of $184.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. Finally, Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Verizon Communications
About Verizon Communications
(
Free Report)
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).
Featured Articles

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Verizon Communications, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Verizon Communications wasn't on the list.
While Verizon Communications currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Discover the next wave of investment opportunities with our report, 7 Stocks That Will Be Magnificent in 2025. Explore companies poised to replicate the growth, innovation, and value creation of the tech giants dominating today's markets.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.