Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Acquires 20,910 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 0.6%, acquiring an additional 20,910 shares during the second quarter.
• Verizon is declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.69, raising it from the previous $0.68, with an annualized yield of 6.8%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Verizon shares, with an average price target of $47.63.

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,658,550 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 20,910 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $158,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 401,881 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $17,389,000 after acquiring an additional 16,545 shares during the period. Arista Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $778,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 332,475 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,386,000 after acquiring an additional 13,983 shares during the period. Primoris Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 77,478 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,352,000 after acquiring an additional 8,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $40.38 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.13. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $170.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.37.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 64.34%.

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).

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