GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 13,756 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.0% in the second quarter, owning a total of 82,397 shares valued at approximately $3.57 million.
• Wall Street analysts have positively updated their ratings and price targets for Verizon, with major firms such as Royal Bank of Canada and JPMorgan Chase raising their targets to $46.00 and $49.00 respectively.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, which represents an increase from its previous dividend, and yields approximately 6.3% annually.

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 20.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,397 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 13,756 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $3,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. ABLE Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 15.9% in the second quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 18,145 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,485 shares in the last quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter worth about $328,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.5% during the second quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 227,328 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $9,836,000 after purchasing an additional 35,450 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 306,677 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $13,270,000 after acquiring an additional 22,823 shares during the period. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 1,518.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 35,856 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,517,000 after acquiring an additional 33,640 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:VZ traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.21. 18,496,468 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,403,802. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $43.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.38. The firm has a market cap of $182.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 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.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

About Verizon Communications

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).