Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Buys 165,449 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,121,097 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 165,449 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $50,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $26,000. 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the first quarter valued at $30,000. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.58 and a 1 year high of $47.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.12 and a 200-day moving average of $43.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.6775 per share. This represents a $2.71 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.44.

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).