Mather Group LLC. Raises Stock Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,472 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Verizon Communications by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 43,986 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 16,704 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,608,000. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications in the fourth quarter worth approximately $268,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Verizon Communications by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verizon Communications during the fourth quarter worth $457,000. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.21 on Thursday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $47.35. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $182.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.38.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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 given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. 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. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Verizon Communications currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

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).