B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG has increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 10.9%, now owning 300,838 shares valued at approximately $13.65 million.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Verizon, with Wells Fargo increasing theirs to $43 and Royal Bank of Canada to $46, reflecting overall positive sentiment on the stock.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, yielding 6.2%, with a payout ratio of 63.17%.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,838 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 29,529 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares in the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after acquiring an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.99 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $185.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.18. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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