Prostatis Group LLC Has $1.41 Million Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Prostatis Group LLC reduced its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 18.5% in Q1, now holding $1.41 million worth of shares after selling 7,043 shares.
• Verizon recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.68 to $0.69, representing an annualized yield of 6.4% and is set to be paid on November 3rd to shareholders of record on October 10th.
• Several equities analysts have given positive ratings for Verizon, with an average target price of $47.65 and upgrades indicating a strong buy sentiment.

Prostatis Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,987 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 7,043 shares during the period. Prostatis Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $16,700,279,000 after buying an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $4,983,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172,175 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position 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 worth $2,261,648,000 after acquiring an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,062,750,000 after purchasing an additional 431,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.32 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

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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