Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Acquired by GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.

Key Points

• GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 105.2%, now holding over 63,000 shares valued at approximately $2.89 million.
• Analysts upgraded Verizon's rating, with targets now ranging from $45 to $49, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on several recent reports.
• Verizon reported a quarterly earnings beat with $1.22 EPS on revenues of $34.5 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations and representing a 5.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 105.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,732 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 32,680 shares during the quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $129,000. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 69.2% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,482 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications by 2.1% in the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 2,908,095 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $131,911,000 after acquiring an additional 58,633 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. now owns 40,129 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 115,702 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $5,248,000 after purchasing an additional 39,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of VZ stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.24. 14,788,113 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,557,173. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 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 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 business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.35.

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).