Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $219.94 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 0.9%, owning approximately 4.85 million shares valued at $219.94 million after selling 46,320 shares in the first quarter.
• Verizon's stock received positive price target adjustments from several brokerages, with Bank of America raising its target from $45 to $49 and maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 6.2%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,848,684 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 46,320 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.11% of Verizon Communications worth $219,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,236,997 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $237,550,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545,898 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.4% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,425,207 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $64,647,000 after buying an additional 72,515 shares during the period. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.7% in the first quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 266,475 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $12,087,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the period. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.0% during the first quarter. American Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,656 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 11.3% during the first quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,206 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,444 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Bank of America raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.44.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

VZ stock opened at $43.71 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.31. The firm has a market cap of $184.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's 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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