Bell Bank Increases Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Bell Bank increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 29.0%, owning 249,761 shares valued at approximately $10.8 million, making it Verizon's 24th largest holding in its portfolio.
• Verizon's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.22, exceeding expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $34.5 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 5.2%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69 per share, providing a yield of 6.3%, reflecting growing investor confidence.

Bell Bank boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 29.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 249,761 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after acquiring an additional 56,105 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications accounts for approximately 0.5% of Bell Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Bell Bank's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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 raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.53. 29,150,933 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,901,778. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $43.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.40. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 3.35 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's 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).