Acadian Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 301.2% in Q1, now owning over 8.5 million shares valued at approximately $385.75 million.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.68 to $0.69 per share, with an annualized yield of 6.3%.
• Analyst ratings for Verizon indicate a positive outlook, with price targets raised by several firms, including Bank of America raising it to $49.00 and Morgan Stanley to $48.00.

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 301.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications makes up about 1.1% of Acadian Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Verizon Communications worth $385,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,007,000 after buying an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter valued at $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. 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. Bank of America upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $183.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $43.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.37. 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The firm's 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

Verizon Communications Company 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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