Maseco LLP Purchases New Shares in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,516 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $8,007,000 after acquiring an additional 96,931 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,799,000. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted 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 valued at $50,393,000 after purchasing an additional 76,083 shares during the period. Rempart Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC grew its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,137,904 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $51,126,000 after buying an additional 63,474 shares during the period. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Down 0.3%

Verizon Communications stock opened at $43.21 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.47 and a 200-day moving average of $43.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.58 and a twelve month high of $47.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.69 dividend. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. 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. Bank of America increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications 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).