CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Acquires 14,902 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• CHICAGO TRUST Co NA enhanced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 24.5%, acquiring an additional 14,902 shares in the second quarter.
• Verizon recently reported earnings of $1.22 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its quarterly dividend was increased to $0.69, reflecting a yield of 6.4%.
• Research analysts have maintained a moderate buy consensus on Verizon, with a consensus price target of $47.65 and several recent price upgrades from firms like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 24.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,753 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 14,902 shares during the quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,859 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.9% in the second quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 132,486 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Argentarii LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 12.1% in the second quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 20,538 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.7% in the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 50,624 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.7% in the second quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 39,393 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.21 on Tuesday. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $43.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $182.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on VZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.65.

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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