Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Invests $447,000 in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC has acquired 9,860 shares of Verizon Communications Inc., investing approximately $447,000 in the company during the first quarter of the year.
• Verizon reported earnings of $1.22 per share for the last quarter, beating analyst expectations of $1.19, with a revenue of $34.5 billion.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.68 to $0.69, with an annualized yield of 6.3%, reflecting a positive trend in financial returns for shareholders.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 9,860 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $183.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change 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 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VZ has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

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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