Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Holdings Raised by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 14.6%, owning 2,329,149 shares worth approximately $105.65 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts have upgraded Verizon's stock, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "strong-buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.
• Verizon reported a 5.2% increase in revenue year-over-year for the last quarter, achieving earnings of $1.22 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.19.

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,329,149 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 296,624 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 0.06% of Verizon Communications worth $105,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $50,393,000 after buying an additional 76,083 shares in the last quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the first quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $14,079,000 after buying an additional 107,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.9% in the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares during the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VZ shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.1%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $45.0350 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.07. The firm has a market cap of $189.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The firm'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. As a group, analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a $0.6775 dividend. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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