Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 27.7% in Q2, bringing its total holdings to 91,940 shares valued at approximately $3.98 million.
• Shares of Verizon recently opened at $39.86, reflecting a 2.4% decline, with a market capitalization of $168.05 billion and a P/E ratio of 9.29.
• Verizon will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share on November 3, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend and a yield of 6.9%.

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,940 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 19,968 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.8% during the first quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,760 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.5% during the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 13,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.4% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,802 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.86 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $43.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

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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