Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Position Increased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 41.9% during the first quarter, owning approximately 5.24 million shares worth $237.55 million.
• Verizon reported a quarterly EPS of $1.22, exceeding estimates, with a 5.2% year-over-year revenue growth totaling $34.50 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $2.71 and a dividend yield of 6.2%.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 41.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,236,997 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 1,545,898 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Verizon Communications worth $237,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth approximately $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 737.5% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $530,576,000 after buying an additional 10,300,369 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,434,572,000 after buying an additional 5,392,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 38,893,487 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,555,351,000 after buying an additional 4,568,518 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.78 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $43.09 and its 200-day moving average is $43.30. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The firm has a market cap of $184.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.6775 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.44.

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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