Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4%, owning 421,462 shares valued at $19.12 million after acquiring an additional 13,699 shares.
• Wall Street analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Verizon, with Tigress Financial raising it to $56 and a consensus average target of $47.35, indicating positive sentiment around the stock.
• Verizon reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenues increasing by 5.2% year-over-year to $34.5 billion and a declared dividend yielding 6.1% annually.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 421,462 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 13,699 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,126,000 after purchasing an additional 63,474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE VZ opened at $44.3840 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $42.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.15. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month 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. The company has a market capitalization of $187.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.36.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

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).

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