Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Purchased by Bell Bank

Bell Bank boosted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 29.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 249,761 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,105 shares during the period. Verizon Communications makes up about 0.5% of Bell Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Bell Bank’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $10,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VZ. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at $661,720,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 737.5% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,697,003 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $530,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,300,369 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 301.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,504,920 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $385,750,000 after acquiring an additional 6,385,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 20.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 31,626,373 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,434,572,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,416 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verizon Communications Trading Down 0.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.53 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.40.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. 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 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VZ. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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).