Woodline Partners LP Grows Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Verizon Communications by 42.4% in Q1, now holding nearly 2 million shares valued at approximately $90 million.
• Verizon declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.69, representing a 6.4% yield, with the next payment scheduled for November 3rd.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their stakes in Verizon, indicating strong institutional interest, with hedge funds owning 62.06% of the company's stock.

Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 42.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,984,204 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after purchasing an additional 591,011 shares during the quarter. Verizon Communications comprises approximately 0.6% of Woodline Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $90,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications by 121.8% during the first quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 176,531 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $8,007,000 after buying an additional 96,931 shares during the period. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in Verizon Communications by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,110,948 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Verizon Communications by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Rempart Asset Management Inc. now owns 310,390 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE VZ opened at $43.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $182.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.36. 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 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $47.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $43.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.37.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The company'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. As a group, research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.69 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on VZ shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.65.

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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