Waycross Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Waycross Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in Verizon Communications, purchasing 6,494 shares valued at approximately $281,000.
• Verizon announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69, up from $0.68, with a yield of 6.4%.
• Analysts have generally positive outlooks for Verizon, with a consensus target price of $47.63 and ratings reflecting a "Moderate Buy" sentiment.

Waycross Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,494 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. grew its holdings 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 during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.63.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ opened at $43.35 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business's 50 day moving average price is $43.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $182.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Verizon Communications 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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