Chicago Capital LLC Buys 2,054 Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. $VZ

Chicago Capital LLC increased its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 6.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,959 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $1,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VZ. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. raised its holdings in Verizon Communications by 81.0% in the first quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Verizon Communications by 71.8% during 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 period. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 62.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Verizon Communications Stock Up 1.6%

VZ stock opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.58 and a 1-year high of $47.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.36. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $185.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.36.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted 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. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.28%.The firm had revenue of $34.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Verizon Communications has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.636-4.728 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. 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. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VZ has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Verizon Communications from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Arete Research raised Verizon Communications to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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).