Modern Wealth Management LLC Has $2.26 Million Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.4%, holding nearly 50,000 shares valued at $2.26 million as of the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have also made significant investments in Verizon, with GQG Partners LLC increasing its position by 303.9% and Nuveen LLC acquiring shares worth $661.7 million this quarter.
• Verizon recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share, reflecting a positive change from its previous payout, and anticipating an annual yield of 6.3%.

Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,897 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 6,676 shares during the quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $385,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,385,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

VZ stock opened at $43.99 on Friday. 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 $185.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.38. 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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current 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 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 is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio 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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