West Oak Capital LLC Purchases 10,675 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 30.2%, acquiring an additional 10,675 shares, bringing its total holdings to 46,070 shares worth approximately $1.99 million.
• Verizon reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.22 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.2%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.68 to $0.69, offering a yield of 6.4%, with the payment scheduled for November 3rd.

West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 30.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,070 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 10,675 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VZ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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. 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.com, Verizon Communications presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.65.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.6%

VZ stock opened at $43.21 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $182.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.39 and a 200-day moving average of $43.38. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The business had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Verizon Communications'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. On average, sell-side 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. 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. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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