Financial Partners Group LLC Boosts Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Financial Partners Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 29.0% during the second quarter, owning a total of 41,059 shares valued at $1,777,000 at the quarter's end.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and GQG Partners LLC, boosted their stakes in Verizon Communications, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising it to $0.69 per share, which reflects a 6.3% yield and a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Financial Partners Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,059 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 9,242 shares during the quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $16,700,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,062,750,000 after buying an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after buying an additional 3,100,342 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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, Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.60 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $183.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications's quarterly 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. 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 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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