Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 50.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,610 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 8,299 shares during the quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.0% in the second quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 45,228 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 44.5% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 5,724,313 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $247,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,762,239 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 4.9% in the second quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 56,669 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.4% in the second quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 19,593 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 25.8% in the second quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 41,524 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 8,527 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications Price Performance
NYSE:VZ opened at $43.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $183.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.37. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The business's quarterly 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. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.
Verizon Communications Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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