Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ Shares Bought by Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.

Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. raised its position in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,336 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $2,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Verizon Communications Stock Performance

VZ stock opened at $43.60 on Friday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $183.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The company 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%.Verizon Communications’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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 research analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is an increase from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VZ. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Arete Research upgraded shares of Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verizon Communications currently 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).