Boston Common Asset Management LLC Purchases 83,930 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 18.0%, acquiring an additional 83,930 shares, bringing their total to 551,019 shares valued at approximately $23.8 million.
• Verizon Communications recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, which will be paid on November 3rd, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.68.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Verizon, with Wells Fargo raising it from $42.00 to $43.00 and others providing price targets ranging from $46.00 to $49.00.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 551,019 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 83,930 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $23,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 112,592 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,107,000 after acquiring an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 52,564 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,273,000 after acquiring an additional 18,779 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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 boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 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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