Perpetual Ltd Has $2.12 Million Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd reduced its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. by 39.7% during the second quarter, owning 48,921 shares after selling 32,257 shares.
• Verizon has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.69, a slight increase from the previous $0.68, with a yield of 6.3%.
• Analysts have revised their target prices for Verizon shares, with Bank of America and JPMorgan raising theirs to $49.00 and three analysts rating the stock as a Strong Buy.

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,921 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 32,257 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $530,576,000 after purchasing an additional 10,300,369 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $385,750,000 after purchasing an additional 6,385,197 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VZ traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.23. 8,423,838 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,883,701. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.65.

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).