Hilltop National Bank Buys Shares of 18,500 Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank has acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications, purchasing 18,500 shares valued at approximately $800,000.
• Verizon Communications recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 6.4%.
• Verizon's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with price targets ranging from $42.00 to $49.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,500 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $43.43 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $43.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.36. The firm has a market cap of $183.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.Verizon Communications's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis 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 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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