Rahlfs Capital LLC Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Rahlfs Capital LLC significantly increased its position in Verizon Communications, boosting holdings by 115.0% during Q1, owning 31,789 shares worth approximately $1.44 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management and Trinity Legacy Partners, have also increased their stakes in Verizon, reflecting strong interest from institutional investors.
• Analysts' consensus rating for Verizon stock is a Moderate Buy with an average target price set at $47.35, following upgrades from several firms in recent weeks.

Rahlfs Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 115.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,789 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises 1.4% of Rahlfs Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Rahlfs Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications by 9.4% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 548,421 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $24,876,000 after purchasing an additional 46,965 shares during the period. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 76.2% in the first quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 98,393 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,196,000 after buying an additional 42,556 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 19.5% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 31,614 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 5,148 shares in the last quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.5% in the first quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC now owns 88,135 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,998,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 18.5% in the first quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 13,186 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Verizon Communications stock opened at $44.3840 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $187.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $42.80 and its 200 day moving average is $43.10. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. 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 (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 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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