Avanza Fonder AB Acquires 9,598 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Avanza Fonder AB increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 3.4%, acquiring an additional 9,598 shares, bringing their total holdings to 292,795 shares valued at approximately $12.67 million.
• Several analysts raised their target prices for Verizon, with consensus rating now at "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the stock.
• Verizon Communications announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, representing a yield of 6.3% and a boost from the previous dividend of $0.68.

Avanza Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 292,795 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 9,598 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $12,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 36.9% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 174,132 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $7,535,000 after purchasing an additional 46,981 shares during the period. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.6% in the second quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 13,600 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 14.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 6,539 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the period. Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 12,177 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 2.0% in the second quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 56,807 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.3%

VZ stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.29. The company had a trading volume of 9,464,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,889,328. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VZ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Company 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).