Hancock Whitney Corp Grows Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 11.6%, acquiring an additional 9,566 shares, bringing its total holdings to 91,835 shares valued at $4,166,000.
• Verizon reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.19, alongside a revenue of $34.50 billion, marking a year-over-year growth of 5.2%.
• Brokerages have rated Verizon with an average price target of $47.44, with three analysts giving a "Strong Buy" rating and seven a "Buy" rating.

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 11.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,835 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 9,566 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 141,518 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,659,000 after purchasing an additional 26,366 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,301,075 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $691,870,000 after buying an additional 1,113,883 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 955,648 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $38,216,000 after buying an additional 4,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 131,046 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,241,000 after buying an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

Verizon Communications stock traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.32. 30,170,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,162,539. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $43.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a PEG 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. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently 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).