BOS Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

BOS Asset Management LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,151 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. BOS Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 368,171,941 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $16,700,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,347,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,866,405 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $4,983,225,000 after buying an additional 1,172,175 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Verizon Communications by 303.9% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 49,859,967 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $2,261,648,000 after purchasing an additional 37,516,167 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Verizon Communications by 1.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 45,475,099 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $2,062,750,000 after acquiring an additional 431,789 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 8.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,993,829 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $1,904,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VZ shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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 on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

Shares of VZ stock opened at $43.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $182.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.35. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.58 and a 52-week high of $47.35.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The company had revenue of $34.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 an increase 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 is Friday, October 10th. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.17%.

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).