Simplicity Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 158.6% during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total shares to 95,631, valued at approximately $4.14 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Procyon Advisors LLC, also boosted their stakes in Verizon, reflecting a growing confidence in the company's performance.
• Verizon recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.68 to $0.69 per share, enhancing its annualized dividend yield to 6.3%.

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 158.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,631 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 58,656 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $4,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 12.5% in the first quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 9,206 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.0% in the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 112,592 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,107,000 after acquiring an additional 42,645 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 55.6% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 52,564 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,273,000 after acquiring an additional 18,779 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.6%

VZ opened at $43.68 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released 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. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. 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 dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications 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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