Smith Salley Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its holdings in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,079 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.53.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

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

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The cell phone carrier reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Verizon Communications’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Increases Dividend

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

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).