Opal Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 60% in Q2, owning 17,859 shares valued at $773,000.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69, marking an increase from the previous $0.68 dividend, representing an annual yield of 6.4%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Verizon, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,859 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $8,007,000 after buying an additional 96,931 shares during the period. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after acquiring an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.21 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $43.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36. 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 data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current 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 $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

About Verizon Communications

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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