Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. by 21.3% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 63,282 shares valued at approximately $2.87 million.
• Verizon reported a net margin of 13.28% and earnings per share of $1.22, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.19, with quarterly revenue also surpassing estimates at $34.50 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.6775 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.71 and a dividend yield of 6.1%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 21.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,282 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 11,091 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 509,961 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $20,393,000 after purchasing an additional 50,184 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 84,406 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,530 shares in the last quarter. Crossingbridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $400,000. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,304,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

NYSE:VZ opened at $44.3840 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. The firm has a market cap of $187.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.13. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.35.

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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