Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Buys 22,823 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.0%, acquiring an additional 22,823 shares, bringing its total holdings to 306,677 shares worth $13.27 million.
• Verizon recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, with a yield of 6.3%, up from $0.68, signaling continued strong financial health.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for Verizon, with the consensus rating now a moderate buy and an average target price of $47.65.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 8.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,677 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 22,823 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 16,704 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 94.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,422 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $1,608,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,346,826 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $93,848,000 after purchasing an additional 125,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,496,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,403,802. 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 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.38. The stock has a market cap of $182.17 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 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).