Morningstar Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 34.4%, acquiring an additional 53,137 shares, making it the 21st largest holding in their portfolio, valued at approximately $8.98 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their stakes in Verizon during Q2, with collective institutional ownership reaching 62.06%.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.68, which translates to an annual yield of 6.9%.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 34.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,578 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 53,137 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up 0.8% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kiker Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kiker Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,724 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 109,874 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,754,000 after buying an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,460 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 53,470 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,314,000 after buying an additional 2,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 364,272 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $15,762,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Finally, Arete Research upgraded 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 given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.34%.

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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