Patron Partners LLC Increases Position in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,082 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the quarter. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. boosted its stake in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% in the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Verizon Communications Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE VZ opened at $43.35 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.58 and a 12-month high of $47.35. The company has a market cap of $182.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.35.

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

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. This is a boost from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s payout ratio is 63.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the topic of several research reports. Arete Research upgraded Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Verizon Communications from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. 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).