New England Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• New England Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.1%, owning approximately 196,795 shares valued at about $8.93 million, making it Verizon's 12th largest position in their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have also made significant moves, including GQG Partners LLC, which raised its holdings by 303.9%, acquiring nearly 50 million shares valued at over $2.26 billion.
• Verizon's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.22, beating estimates, with revenues reaching $34.50 billion, which is a 5.2% increase year-over-year.

New England Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,795 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 16,465 shares during the period. Verizon Communications comprises 1.4% of New England Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. New England Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $8,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,351,000 after purchasing an additional 4,568,518 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.14 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 current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.16 and a 200-day moving average of $43.33. The firm has a market cap of $186.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The business'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. Analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.44.

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).

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