American National Bank & Trust Purchases 20,575 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• American National Bank & Trust has increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.4%, purchasing an additional 20,575 shares, bringing its total ownership to 239,218 shares valued at approximately $10.35 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 62.06% of Verizon's stock, with notable increases from firms such as GQG Partners LLC and Pacer Advisors Inc. in the last quarter.
• Verizon recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, with a total annualized dividend of $2.76, reflecting a dividend yield of 6.4%.

American National Bank & Trust grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 239,218 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 20,575 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,385,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.35 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.51 and a 200-day moving average of $43.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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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