Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Purchases 11,684 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 13.2%, acquiring an additional 11,684 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 100,080 shares valued at $4,540,000.
• Verizon reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.19, with a revenue of $34.50 billion, surpassing estimates of $33.47 billion.
• The company's recently announced dividend of $0.6775 per share reflects a 6.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 13.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,080 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 11,684 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% during 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. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $44.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $186.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month 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. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $42.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

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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