Advisors Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.6%, owning 243,713 shares now valued at $11,055,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Verizon Communications announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 6.3%, up from the previous $0.68.
• Analyst ratings for Verizon show an average consensus of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $47.65, indicating positive sentiment from multiple investment firms.

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 243,713 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 15,029 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 75.1% in the first quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,795 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 6,344 shares in the last quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 34.5% during the first quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC now owns 24,996 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 6,411 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% during the first quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 79,790 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $3,619,000 after acquiring an additional 2,611 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $385,750,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at about $447,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $44.12 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.65.

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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