Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $20.42 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 98.8% during the second quarter, holding 471,835 shares valued at approximately $20.42 million.
• Verizon Communications recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $0.68, representing a yield of 6.3%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Verizon's stock, with targets ranging from $43.00 to $49.00, and an average price target of $47.53.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 98.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 471,835 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 234,485 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $20,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 835,480 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $36,151,000 after purchasing an additional 53,644 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 7.0% during the second quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 337,771 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 22,132 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 23.4% during the second quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 29,534 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 5,602 shares during the last quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 5.8% during the second quarter. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 6.8% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 152,926 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $6,617,000 after acquiring an additional 9,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $43.65 and its 200-day moving average is $43.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company 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 company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities 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. 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 yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 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).

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