Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 14.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 35,695 shares for a total of 286,220 shares valued at approximately $12.98 million.
• Verizon Communications reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.03, with a revenue increase of 5.2% year-over-year to $34.50 billion.
• Wall Street analysts have rated Verizon stock with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and set a target price of $47.65, reflecting a positive outlook for the company's future performance.

Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,220 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 35,695 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 11.6% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 91,835 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,166,000 after acquiring an additional 9,566 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.2% in the first quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,266,255 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $57,437,000 after acquiring an additional 38,745 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 22.0% in the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 6,176,159 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $280,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,512 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 17.3% in the first quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 1,121,097 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,853,000 after acquiring an additional 165,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 4.1% in the first quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 340,542 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $15,447,000 after acquiring an additional 13,406 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.32. 30,230,465 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,191,797. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $182.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. 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 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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).