30,300 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Purchased by Board of the Pension Protection Fund

Key Points

• The Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired 30,300 shares of Verizon Communications Inc. in the second quarter, with an investment valued at approximately $1,311,000.
• Verizon recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.19, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69, yielding 6.9% annually.
• Analysts have varied views on Verizon’s stock; while some have given a "buy" rating, others have downgraded it to "hold," resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,300 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $1,311,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37.

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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications 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).

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