OFI Invest Asset Management Has $13.59 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• OFI Invest Asset Management has increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 5.7%, owning 314,124 shares valued at $13.59 million.
• Verizon reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a total revenue of $34.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend, with a current yield of 6.9%.

OFI Invest Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 5.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 314,124 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 16,992 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $13,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $39.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, 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. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.48 and its 200 day moving average is $43.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VZ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.63.

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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