Truvestments Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the first quarter, owning a total of 115,702 shares worth approximately $5.25 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Verizon Communications, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America both increasing targets to $49.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Verizon reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, surpassing estimates, with a revenue increase of 5.2% year-over-year, coupled with a strong dividend yield of 6.2%.

Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 51.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,702 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 39,119 shares during the period. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 1.1% of Truvestments Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Truvestments Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $5,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Crescent Sterling Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 30,906 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80,178 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of VZ opened at $43.99 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $42.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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