43,737 Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Bought by Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d'investissement inc. purchased 43,737 shares of Verizon Communications Inc. for approximately $1.89 million, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Verizon Communications reported better-than-expected earnings with $1.22 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.03 and achieving a year-over-year revenue growth of 5.2%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, representing a yield of 6.3%, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $0.68.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 43,737 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $1,892,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.76 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.39. The firm has a market cap of $184.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.36. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.65.

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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