Ascent Group LLC Purchases 9,750 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.8%, acquiring an additional 9,750 shares worth approximately $6.6 million.
• Due to strong interest from institutional investors, Verizon Communications has a 62.06% ownership rate among these investors, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions.
• Verizon recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, representing an annualized yield of 6.3% and reflecting the company's positive financial performance.

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 9,750 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,760 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.5% in the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 13,082 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.4% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $43.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications 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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