ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications to $17.84 million, making it the 17th largest position in their portfolio after acquiring 11,440 additional shares in the second quarter.
• Verizon recently announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, up from $0.68, and has set its FY 2025 earnings per share guidance between 4.636 and 4.728.
• Securities analysts have provided a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Verizon, with revised target prices ranging from $47.00 to $49.00 from various firms.

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 412,247 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 11,440 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 2.1% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:VZ traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.53. 29,150,933 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,901,778. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $43.35 and its 200-day moving average is $43.40.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus 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).