Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 15.8%, now holding 453,468 shares, valued at roughly $19.6 million.
• Verizon reported earnings per share of $1.22 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $34.5 billion, up 5.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69, representing an annualized yield of 6.9% and a payout ratio of 63.17%.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,468 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 61,806 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $19,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $50.00 to $50.50 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Verizon Communications in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Arete Research raised shares of Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

VZ opened at $39.86 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $43.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.25. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The business's 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. Analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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 paid a $0.69 dividend. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.9%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is 63.17%.

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).

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