National Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• National Wealth Management Group LLC invested approximately $463,000 in Verizon Communications, acquiring 10,209 shares during the first quarter.
• Analyst ratings for Verizon have been generally positive, with Goldman Sachs initiating coverage with a "buy" rating and a price target of $49.00, while the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Verizon reported earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and marking a 5.2% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest quarterly results.

National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,209 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 141,518 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,659,000 after buying an additional 26,366 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,301,075 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $691,870,000 after buying an additional 1,113,883 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 955,648 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $38,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 131,046 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $5,241,000 after acquiring an additional 6,952 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of VZ stock traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $43.32. 30,231,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,191,508. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.37. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.65.

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).