TD Private Client Wealth LLC Acquires 5,475 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,719 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,475 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $11,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 121.8% in 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 last quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 4th quarter worth about $381,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings 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 valued at $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rempart Asset Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $14,079,000 after purchasing an additional 107,200 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.35 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a one year low of $37.58 and a one year high of $47.35. The stock has a market cap of $182.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during 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%. Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VZ has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. 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 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.63.

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).