Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 172,500 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 4.5%, acquiring an additional 172,500 shares, bringing its total to approximately 3.99 million shares valued at around $172.7 million.
• Verizon declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, an increase from the previous $0.68, which represents an annual yield of 6.4% and will be paid to shareholders of record on October 10th.
• Despite some analysts cutting ratings, JPMorgan and other firms have raised price targets for Verizon stock, with a current consensus target price set at $47.53 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,991,306 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 172,500 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for about 0.6% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned 0.09% of Verizon Communications worth $172,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 121.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,007,000 after purchasing an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $2,799,000. Autumn Glory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Autumn Glory Partners LLC now owns 62,277 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,825,000 after buying an additional 12,760 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 95.5% during the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 26,785 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 13,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 68.4% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,897 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 2,802 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Verizon Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.36. 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 twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $183.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Verizon Communications 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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