Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $15.87 Million Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 21.9%, owning 366,682 shares valued at approximately $15.87 million.
• Analysts have shown increased confidence in Verizon, with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan raising their price targets, leading to a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Verizon recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69, reflecting an annualized rate of $2.76 and a yield of 6.3%, indicating a positive earnings outlook.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 21.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 366,682 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after buying an additional 65,943 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $15,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after buying an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of Verizon Communications stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.53. 29,150,933 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,403,802. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35. The company has a market capitalization of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications's payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VZ shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verizon Communications from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.65.

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).