Easterly Investment Partners LLC Has $17.39 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners LLC has increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 4.3%, holding 401,881 shares valued at approximately $17.39 million.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $2.76 and a yield of 6.8%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Verizon, with a current average price target of $47.63.

Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 401,881 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 16,545 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 1.2% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $17,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,637,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 21,255 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first 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. Finally, Platform Technology Partners lifted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the first quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 31,513 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VZ shares. Scotiabank lifted 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $40.38 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market capitalization 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. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $43.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.13.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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