Ieq Capital LLC Has $6.82 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 79.6%, holding 150,445 shares valued at approximately $6.82 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GQG Partners LLC and Pacer Advisors Inc., have made substantial increases to their holdings in Verizon, indicating strong investor interest.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, translating to an annual yield of 6.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 63.17%.

Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 79.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,445 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 66,673 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $6,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after buying an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 3,601.6% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 8,937,180 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $357,398,000 after buying an additional 8,695,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,434,572,000 after buying an additional 5,392,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.7%

VZ stock opened at $43.95 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.22. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 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 analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. 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).

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