Arista Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Arista Wealth Management LLC has made a new investment in Verizon Communications, acquiring 17,989 shares valued at approximately $778,000.
• Verizon reported a quarterly EPS of $1.22, surpassing estimates, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.2% to $34.50 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, representing a yield of 6.8%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 64.34%.

Arista Wealth Management LLC acquired 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 disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,989 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $778,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 121.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at $2,799,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 205,416 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,888,000 after buying an additional 39,445 shares in the last quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,825,000 after buying an additional 12,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Trust Co. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 95.5% during the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 13,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

VZ opened at $40.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $170.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37. 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 50-day moving average price of $43.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.13. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35.

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 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 company 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 company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications'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. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.63.

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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