Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 6.0% in Q1, owning 155,813 shares valued at approximately $7.06 million.
• Several large investors, including Bernard Wealth Management and Cherry Tree Wealth Management, significantly boosted their positions in Verizon during the same period, reflecting a growing interest in the company.
• Verizon recently reported Q2 earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $34.5 billion, marking a 5.2% increase from the previous year.

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,813 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 8,761 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $7,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:VZ opened at $45.0350 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $189.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.07. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.